


Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer's Day?

by AuteurOnirique



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Elrond feels guilty, Lindir is very lovely, M/M, Thranduil throws the best parties
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-04-18 08:11:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4698716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuteurOnirique/pseuds/AuteurOnirique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It began as it always begun. With Arwen walking in, a big smile on her face. </p><p>Elrond meets a lovely blushing guide. He doesn't expect to see him again. For once, he is wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> So this is another Elrond/Lindir fic. There are so many good fics with this pairing, I hope I can do them justice. I'd like to add just a few things before you start reading: 
> 
> \- the rating is T but will go up.  
> \- the setting is a sort of modern Middle-Earth. And yes, I do pretend Shakespeare's sonnets were written by Maglor. I'm sorry about that (I really couldn't write my own sonnets, English isn't even my first language)  
> \- I usually post every two weeks but I might be late sometimes (work or exams, you know)  
> \- I will ask your opinion on some minor ship I'd like to add in one or two chapters. You can always message me here on on my tumblr (sembenesbuttercreamtorte)  
> \- I write with some music so if you want recs, I can make you some little playlists. Just ask. 
> 
> I'll let you read now. Hope you like it and, please, let me know!

It began as it always begun. With Arwen walking in, a big smile on her face. 

”You should definitively go to that exhibition, the ‘Poets of the Bruinen’ thing.” She said, throwing her bag on the couch where her father was reading. 

”Pray tell why I should go to an exhibit about something I teach when I know every bit will be over-simplified for tourist simpletons and bored Imladris inhabitants.” Elrond replied, not looking up from his book. 

Arwen rolled her eyes and sat on the couch, right next to him, her smile hardly leaving her face. He looked at her and let her smile conquer him. 

”You should because the daughter you love so much went there with her boyfriend, whom you don’t know you love very much as well, and she thought you should go.”

Elrond was not impressed. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Aragorn. It was more on the ‘I’d rather my daughter wasn’t so in love with you’ range of feeling. Still, the exhibition intrigued him. 

”Why does the daughter I love so much thought I should visit this ‘Poets of the Bruinen’ exhibition?”

”Ah! Now, you are intrigued. My plan worked!”

”You got me. Are you not revealing your secret then?”

”I’m not. Just go, enjoy and we’ll discuss it afterwards.” Arwen concluded with a smile. She patted his thigh and got up. 

”Sorry, can’t stay long. Just the time for a shower and I have to go again. Party at Gimli’s.”

Elrond rolled his eyes. 

”Let’s make a deal.” He said. ”You go tonight but tomorrow, you stay for dinner. You’ve been on the run for the last two weeks!”

”Have to. There’s not much of the summer left. That being said, I accept the deal. Tomorrow. It’s a date.” Arwen called from the bathroom. 

***

So Elrond was waiting in the small queue of loud-talking tourists who found everything, including the small tip box, fascinating and worth of taking selfies with. The teacher was slightly exasperated and wanted to leave but he had to agree with his daughter: he barely visited his own town in the summer. Plus, it was an exhibition on a subject he taught, so it was bound to be either interesting or worth laughing discreetly at. 

It was one of those: ‘integrated to Nature’ cultural exhibition. Most of the people just wanted to see the river and the incredible fauna around it but took the tour in order to look smarter afterwards by reciting pieces of information the guide would throw at them. 

It wouldn’t be long, Arwen had promised. He hoped she was right. Why would she even go to such an exhibition when her father was considered the leading researcher on the subject? He had two courses at the university of Imladris, travelled all over Middle-Earth to give lectures, and wrote two books on the subject. He knew, of course, it could only be one of Aragorn’s ideas. Well, he hoped they had fun. 

Personally, he was ready for the Halls of Mandos. 

”Good morning everyone. Welcome to the ‘Poets of the Bruinen’ exhibition. I’ll be your guide. I hope you have the audio-guides if you need it…”

The rest was lost to Elrond as he turned to see the guide make his way through the crowd of tourists. 

He was lovely. He had long brown hair tied in a bun but had visibly forgotten a tress of it which now followed his long swan-like neck. He was just a little shorter than Elrond but as he was also thinner, it did nothing to diminish his grace as he made his way to the beginning of the tour. He spoke perfect Sindarin with a small lilting accent of the North of the Bruinen. He wore skinny jeans and a white shirt. He seemed slightly uncomfortable in them and was toying absent-mindedly with his badge. He was very lovely.

Now he understood why Arwen was smiling that much. She had asked, earlier that summer, whether he considered finding someone else. It has been many years since Celebrian and he had never really considered having someone else in his life. He had his family and his work and he had always thought that was enough. He told Arwen that much but she didn’t seem convinced. Now he knew what she had been up to. He repressed a fond smile. He loved his daughter very much and he knew she just wanted him to be happy but he really couldn’t have another relationship. 

Especially with a blushing young guide. 

Elrond walked along with the other tourists, admiring the river he knew so well. The lush pines which danced with the wind and the ripples fallen leaves made on the surface of the water. The sun was high but the cold winds of early autumn prevented the dreadful heat to abate on the tour. 

Elrond found himself re-reading the same sentence three times on a board attached to the trunk of a tree. His mind had trouble focusing as the guide’s gentle voice kept going on and on about political context. He was surprisingly well-informed. 

Well, Elrond thought, he probably learnt his text well. 

Nevertheless, he was not getting involved with a young man. His wife had known about his bisexuality and she had joked about it in front of their children as soon as they had been old enough to understand. The problem was not there. The problem resided in the fact that the lovely blushing young guide was exactly that. A young guide. 

Why was he even thinking about it? He was pretty sure the young man hadn’t even glanced at him twice since the beginning of the tour. He was only another face in a sea of faces. He probably saw hundreds of old pretentious professors like him a day and remembered none of them. He was being pathetic. 

Elrond looked at another board explaining how the poets were inspired by Nature to create new forms for the poems, to adapt the rhythm of the Bruinen. He recognized some of the sources which were dutifully cited at the bottom of the board. It made him smile. He knew all the information so seeing it once again was a little boring but at least, it was well-presented. He couldn’t say the same for many of his students. 

The day might not be lost after all, the professor thought as he read some of the most well-known lines quoted in front of the flowing water and felt himself relax at the familiarity of lines learnt by heart and recited again and again. 

The tourists in the background were not so relaxing. Some were still asking questions about political context, about the lords and their indiscreet affairs. Others were asking about trees and ”if this one could grow in my backyard”. Elrond looked at the young guide. He was trying to organize the questions in order to answer one at a time. He looked perfectly calm and composed but Elrond could see his hands holding his ‘tour guide ‘ badge as if his life depended on it. His lovely cheeks were slightly flushed with the heat of the day, the effort of raising his voice and the embarrassment of having to dismiss a question about a poet’s sexual life. It suited him. 

Suddenly (well, not so suddenly perhaps for someone who had been listening to the questions being exhausted instead of watching the young guide) Elrond found himself being the target of a shy, fleeting glance. He was so shocked by the fact that the young guide even spared him a glance that he forgot to look away in order to make it appear accidental. Instead, he let their gazes meet and hold for a few more seconds than necessary. 

The guide had brown eyes. Hazel brown eyes. The light made them appear very clear and very gentle. A true picture of loveliness. It made Elrond want to make ridiculous comparisons with food or even trees. His other down-to-earth side just rolled his eyes. He was influenced by the nice weather, the feeling of freedom that comes with summer, and his own loneliness. It would pass before the end of the day. Nothing to be concerned with. 

Was he dreaming or was the young guide blushing really really deep? 

Elrond returned to the boards explaining the place of the river as an addressee in some of the most moving poems. He smiled to himself. He had written about it in his first critical work about the poets of the Bruinen. It looked strongly like his book. His eyes shifted to the bottom. He was indeed in the footnotes. He looked at the guide again. The guide quickly looked away and guided the group towards a lookout which, to the relief of the tourists, had no boards with long texts about dead poets. The young guide gracefully let them take pictures of the river flowing past them. 

The professor allows himself to be captured by the sight in front of him. The sound of water flowing, of leaves brushing each other in the wind. The astonishing deep blue of the river and the ripples on its surface which comes clearer. The sweet promise of cold to come with autumn contradicted by the warm wind of summer past. His perception of this very particular landscape had been perpetually stained by his studies, by verses read some many times that one cannot help but recognize them in Nature. He couldn’t watch the Bruinen and not think about the poems about it. The beauty of one was forever intertwined with the beauty of the other in his mind. 

It was probably what was happening with the young guide. He was not a student so was not off-limits. He didn’t look totally stupid either. The very fact that he could indeed go on and ask the young man for a date freed his mind and the landscape encouraged such romantic follies. 

”Are you enjoying the exhibition, sir?”

Well, what could he say? The guide was just as lovely from up close as he had been from afar. 

”I am indeed. A very well-informed exhibition. Very synthetic and very efficient.” 

He smelt like honeydew and cold wind. He was toying with the tress that he forgot to put in his bun and could barely meet his eyes. Elrond always had a certain fondness for students who had trouble with eye contact. He had learnt quite early on that eye contact was the ultimate form of communication. Struggling with it lead to two possibilities: either the student was uninterested and bored or he was way too into the subject and didn’t want to communicate too much. 

By the way the young guide blushed and seemed to find the river fascinating, Elrond hoped it was the second supposition. 

”I’m glad you like it, sir. Please, don’t hesitate if you have any questions… or if you find anything wrong or not quite correct…”

Towards the end of the sentence, the guide made the effort of looking up. Those eyes were a joke. No one could have such brown eyes and be serious. The professor just froze, his mind as blank as if he was going to sit through an exam he hadn’t studied for. 

And just as for any exam he hadn’t studied for, he improvised. 

”I am actually impressed by the number of sources used. Quite a wide range of them. I just couldn’t find who was the main source. Who put the exhibition together?” He said, using his best stern and composed teacher’s voice. 

While the young guide was struggling with words and slowly tearing his hands apart with his nervous fingers, Elrond made the effort of looking away from his eyes to look at his badge. 

Lindir. 

What a lovely name, Elrond thought. He wondered why he was always using the word ‘lovely’ to qualify the young man. He did not use the word ‘lovely’ like that. Yet, it seemed to stick to Lindir, the blushing young guide who had the name of a poet. 

”All the credits are on the last board, sir.”

That way of calling him ‘sir’ should be illegal too. 

The young guide had a small nervous smile, a nod, and turned to the rest of the group to gather them before resuming the tour. 

Elrond would have liked not to have to confess he checked him but he actually did. 

Yet again, the word ‘lovely’ stuck in his mind. 

He was being ridiculous. He turned back to the exhibition and tried to concentrate. 

How could he even report this to Arwen? Could he hope to be credible when saying « that was nice but nothing exceptional »? She would see right through him. She had her grand-mother’s eye. 

The thought of Galadriel (and by extension, Celebrian) sobered him. He couldn’t act like a teenager who believes himself in love. He was better than that. 

The rest of the exhibition was really serious. Some portraits, some poems, some explanations. Lindir’s gentle voice and his distracting tress of hair that wouldn’t fit in his bun. It was a beautiful day in a rainy week, nothing more. As soon as the young guide would be out of sight, his brain would start functioning normally again and he would realize how stupid all of this was. 

At the end, tourists crowded the little shop where a young brunette girl was smiling at Lindir. The young guide answered with frank and lovely smile that did nothing to make his eyes more manageable. He was drawn back by a woman asking questions about some poet or other. Elrond quietly went to the credits board. The least he could do was checking the sources before leaving. 

He couldn’t believe it. 

Under all the names he knew so well, and his, was a small note: 

”The exhibition is inspired by the master’s dissertation of Lindir Foncombe. It was transformed to fit the format of an exhibition. The whole dissertation can be found on the Imladris University official website…” 

There couldn’t be a thousand of Lindir. 

With a little smile and a raised brow, he looked back at the young guide who happened to be looking at him. Caught off guard, Lindir looked away and tried to look deep in conversation with the girl running the shop. She was trying not to laugh at his face but was smiling so much she couldn’t talk. Lindir’s cheeks had a very lovely shade of red. 

So here he was, the dutiful student who had such an efficient and synthetic way of gathering and presenting information. Elrond couldn’t believe he had never noticed him before. It wasn’t possible that the young man had taken none of his courses. The poets of the Bruinen weren’t such a popular topic and most of the teachers and students alike considered it too dull. It was true that studying those poets required linguistic and historical knowledge on top of a staggering amount of literary concepts. 

However, it was true that he had some forty students every semester and he barely looked at their names. He really couldn’t keep close contact with them as he wished. 

Nevertheless, it was a lovely mind to go with his lovely eyes. And lovely curve of his neck. 

Presently Lindir was trying to hide his face in the counter as the last tourists made their way to the parking lot. Elrond realized he was slightly behind the mass he had been mingling in the past hour. 

He was making to leave when his eyes met the last board, a reminder of the beauty of the Bruinen to take for the rest of the day…

”Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?  
Thou art more lovely and more temperate…”

Oh, there it was. 

Lovely. 

He had the poem stuck in his mind like one of Arwen’s songs. Lindir happened to be the perfect canvas for the beauty of the half-remembered poem. 

He entered his car and didn’t look back.


	2. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> It's me again with a new chapter! I wasn't going to post it so soon but you guys were so amazing that it actually pushed me to write faster. (it doesn't happen to me quite so often...)Thanks a lot for your reviews and your kudos, it is so great. 
> 
> Since you guys are so great, I'll tell you what: I'm still struggling for a minor pairing for our friend Thranduil. So, I'll let your read this chapter and, if you want, please tell me what character you'd like to see conquer the Swagking's heart. 
> 
> So, here's the chapter, I hope you like it.

It continued with Thranduil walking in the teacher’s lounge as if he owned the place, as he always did. 

Elrond was gathering the books and the papers he needed for his next class. He barely looked up to greet his colleague as he dramatically collapsed in the armchair in front of his. 

”I can’t believe I actually became a teacher.” Thranduil sighed, waving the paper cup in his hand. 

”I can’t believe you tell me so everyday.” Elrond answered. ”Aren’t you supposed to prepare for your class that should have started…” Elrond checked his watch. ”Ten minutes ago?”

”Yeah, but the students won’t show up until twenty minutes in. They know me.” Thranduil explained before drinking from his paper cup. 

”Is that wine again, Thranduil?” Elrond asked, hoping sincerely that he was wrong. 

”Good luck proving it before I’ve finished drinking it.” Thranduil replied before sipping the mysterious liquid in his cup. 

Like Elrond, Thranduil had lost his wife. Since then, he had started drinking. Galadriel had forced the two to meet in order to share the pain. They had ended up talking about the only other thing that reunited them: the elven lore. Thranduil was a history teacher, specialized in Mirkwood. He also made some lessons on the history of Imladris and their interests met a lot, leading to long discussions late at night. The pain was more bearable when they talked about research to be done. 

Sometimes, Thranduil would even read some of his students’ essays in order to make them laugh with catastrophic syntax and poor research skills. 

Thranduil had looked better the last two years but if he was drinking wine in the mornings again… Elrond had to contact Galadriel and it was not something he wanted to do to his unlikely friend. 

”I’m going to be late for my lecture and that would seriously disturb my students.” Elrond concluded. ”But we’ll have to talk at lunch. Meet me here. Be there: I know you don’t have any lectures at that time.” 

”Yes, yes, yes” Thranduil replied, visibly annoyed. ”Plus, I have this student I have to talk to you about. He wants a supervisor for something about the poets of the Bruinen. I gave him your email so he’ll probably contact you sometime…”

”What? Wait, I don’t have time for it right now but I want a full report at lunch. Don’t give my email like that to people!”

”Sir, yes, sir!” Thranduil replied with a mock military salute. 

Elrond closed the lounge’s door a little more violently than he had intended. He had been jittery since that day at the exhibit at the Bruinen. 

***

That evening, Arwen had gracefully taken some time off of her busy social schedule for home-made lasagna and a movie marathon with her father. She had teased him all evening about the exhibition. 

”So, how was the exhibition?” She had asked with her suspicious big smile. 

”It was better than I expected actually. I hope Aragorn recognized some of the information there.” Elrond answered while cutting the tomatoes. 

”Don’t turn the subject back around. Describe your impressions about the surroundings.”

”It’s the Bruinen. It take some of my most brilliant students there every year for a reading.”

”Okay, I’ll go frankly. Tell me you didn’t like the guide.”

”Maybe we didn’t have the same guide.” Elrond replied patiently. 

”Oh, what do I see? What do I witness?” Arwen said, thrusting her face in her father’s personal space. ”Could it be a tiny smile I see on the fearsome of Sir Foncombe?” 

”It is a smile for you, my very dear and very sweet daughter. Now, if you want lasagna, please let me cut the tomatoes in peace.”

”I think it is a smile for the cute little guide that is totally your type and was actually very intelligent, and sweet, and nice. Did he tell you he was the one to actually write all the things on the boards? He told us, and was very modest about it.” 

”He did tell me and yes, he was very sweet and nice and whatever you want but he’s not my type at all. I mean, how old is he? A few years older than you but not much. Plus, I have a lot to take care of. My work, my beautiful daughter, the house, your two hell raiser of brothers…”

”You are finding excuses.” Arwen glared at him like a dog who knows you didn’t actually throw the ball. ”But well, I accept your refusal of the guide. I just think it’s time for you to start thinking about yourself again. Grandma agrees.”

The thought of Galadriel as ‘Grandma’ had always been one with which Elrond had trouble coming to terms with. Arwen never had this problem. That was probably why everyone was slightly afraid of his beautiful daughter in spite of her great smiles. Well, if you could see how the awe-inspiring head of the Behavioral Science Department as ‘Grandma’ you were probably someone to be afraid of. 

”I’ll think about it. But if I do find someone else, it won’t be someone quite so young.” Elrond relented. If Galadriel and Arwen were teaming together, he’d better take the matter in his own hands before it was too late. 

”Fine.” Arwen compromised before taking the cheese from the fridge. 

***

Back to the present, Elrond opened the door to the classroom and watched the students pour in. Despite his dismissal of Lindir as a possible romantic partner, he caught himself looking for him among the students. 

Just like he had caught himself looking for him in the streets, at the library, at the supermarket, and even at the theatre. It was getting ridiculous. 

Elrond set his books on the table and took a deep breath. The room fell silent. Ah, his students knew him well…

After class, Elrond felt unbelievably tired. He had forgotten how speaking loudly and clearly for two hours strained his voice. The only things he wanted right now was a good tea and a chair but he had to have lunch with Thranduil. Thanks the Valar, the History professor could listen to himself all day. Elrond went back to the teacher’s lounge, crowded by teachers speaking and laughing, which only made him want to go back home where it was quiet. 

He was growing asocial. It was a problem. 

”And then this girl comes up and asks: ‘Sir, when are we going to have the midterm?’ Like, I don’t know, of course. I don’t even know what I’m going to tell them for the next class and she asks when is the midterm. Can you believe that?” Thranduil appeared by his side. ”It’s totally an excuse to study at the last minute. I don’t know when the midterm is, you have to study as if the midterm was tomorrow, always… This generation is. so. lazy.”

It was going to be a long day. Elrond couldn’t even believe how Thranduil’s books were so good when he always wrote them a month before the deadline. He always did everything just before the deadline. It was always a very stressful time for everyone around him at that time. 

”Can we go to somewhere quiet to have lunch?” Elrond asked. ”I have enough noise for a week.”

”Don’t you have another class tomorrow?” Thranduil, the ever-helpful, asked. 

”Don’t even mention it. Let’s go to the café.”

The café in question was every teacher’s dream: nice and quiet. Ideal for a good cup of tea after a class. Some teachers came here with the students they supervised, others came with papers to grade right before handing them back but most of them came here to relax and look at the gardens in peace. 

The speciality of the café was that people working here remembered your order and started preparing it as soon as they saw you coming in. That was Elrond’s favorite part, with the gardens. 

Thranduil was still ranting about how one of his students asked things about ‘extra credit’ when they sat down in a small booth near the window. After Galion had brought their order with a special smile for Thranduil, Elrond cut him in his never-ending tirade. 

”Who is that student you gave my email to?” He asked directly. Direct always worked with Thranduil. 

The history professor rolled his eyes and took a sip of his latte with soy milk to make Elrond wait even longer. 

”Him. Oh, well. He came to ask for a supervisor for his doctorate. He really doesn’t wait. He even has a subject and all. I mean, I could stand here and let him do all the work.”

”So why on Arda did you give him my email instead?” Elrond laughed. 

Thranduil rolled his eyes again. He rolled his eyes more often than Arwen ever had during her rebellious teenage phase. 

”His subject is actually quite interesting…. However… it’s more literature than history. It does have history in it, you know, can’t really study the poets of the Bruinen without historical context, but it way more literature-oriented. I don’t know why he hasn’t contacted you already. Or maybe he did…? Did I send you back a student you already refused?”

Thranduil didn’t seem the least bit concerned with that. Elrond sipped his black tea. 

”No, I haven’t received any emails about any doctorates. I’ll see what he has to say. It’s been a long time since I even supervised one.”

”Plus, he’s very cute, you’ll see.” Thranduil added, making Elrond want to roll his own eyes. ”A little too shy for me but, well… I already have a student for a doctorate. Very promising. He looks like someone neat and tidy. I could actually ask him to come put some order in my notes. He would be honored…” Thranduil mused. 

”We haven’t talked about this morning either.” Elrond interrupted. 

”There is nothing to say about this morning.” Thranduil replied. His death glare would have sent any student cower in a corner for a whole semester. Elrond was less than impressed. 

”If there is something going on, you should start talking about it before it gets too big. You know how it ends when you let things overwhelm you.”

”Oh, please, don’t start playing your Galadriel number with me. Just because you married her daughter doesn’t mean you have to imitate her.”

A heavy silence fell on the two of them. Elrond stared at his tea for a minute. The condensation left pearls of water on the porcelain. Volutes of heat raised themselves in the air in intricate patterns. He took a deep breath to repress all the memories and the pain. 

”So it’s that bad?” He asked finally. 

”Look, Elrond… I shouldn’t have said that, I…” Thranduil started. 

”I don’t want your excuses, Thranduil. I want to help you in any way I can. If you don’t want to speak to me, it’s alright but I think you have to start talking about it now. You can’t afford something like the last time.”

Thranduil had a small depreciative smile that he quickly hid in his cup. Elrond waited, his hands still on his cup, trying to relax and make a dam between the memories and himself. 

”I…” Thranduil started. He paused and licked his lips. No one would actually believe the great Thranduil could actually stumble on his words. No one but Elrond and Galadriel. They had seen him do far worse. ”It’s… You remember that… Uhm… That she… Had a child from a previous partner?”

Thranduil didn’t have to explain who ‘she’ was. His wife. The only person he had ever loved. He had watched her die from cancer. A long, painful death that took months before she finally closed her eyes forever. He couldn’t even say her name anymore. 

”I remember. Legolas, right? What happened to him?”

”Since… Well… He stayed with his father. He called me yesterday because he needed help. His father is kicking him out of the house for being gay. Picture that. She really didn’t have any taste in men at all… Anyway… He wants to come and stay at my house. Just the time to find a part time job to find a room or something like that. Of course, I’m not letting him have a part time job and a shitty flat. He’s her son. He deserves better than that.”

”When is he coming?” Elrond asked with a smile. Having someone to live with will do Thranduil a great service. The poor soul, however, was in for a wild ride. 

He vaguely remembered Legolas. He used to play with his children at the park when they visited Galadriel for Christmas. He looked like his mother. It was going to be painful. 

”Tonight.”

”Do you want help tidying up the house?” Elrond asked. 

”No, I already did. A little. He’s young, he’ll understand.” 

”What are you going to do for dinner?”

”Do I have to think about it now? It’s in several hours.” Thranduil complained. 

”Thranduil. If you want him to stay, make him want to stay.” Elrond advised sternly. 

”Fine, I’ll make a pomegranate and baby spinach salad for the entrée, eggplant lasagna and salted caramel chocolate cake.”

”So you have actually planned this.” Elrond raised both his eyebrows. 

”I have and I am late. See you later, Elrond.”

Thranduil slipped the money in Galion’s pocket on his way out. Elrond shook his head and finished his tea. 

***

That evening, Elrond opened his laptop with a mug of tisane in his hand. Arwen was using the shower and he was left to check his emails, waiting for his turn. 

Apart from all the mails concerning the beginning of the classes and some mails from students asking when he was going to put his classes online (which he wasn’t going to do, the idea of speaking to an empty classroom wasn’t that appealing to him), he had a single mail from a mysterious ‘l.figwit @ imladris-univ . im’ 

That must be Thranduil’ shy student. He opened it and started reading. 

Well, apart from all the ‘I’m sorry’, the ‘I would like’, and ‘I wouldn’t dare presume’, he wrote rather well. 

And his subject… 

By the Valar, it could be very, very interesting. 

Basically, he wanted to do a re-reading of Maglor’s poetry (one of the most brilliant poets of the Bruinen) to prove the lover the poet compared to the Bruinen was actually male. It would involve some linguistics in order to study the pronouns (which weren’t that clear at that Age), some historical context (homosexuality was actually quite common at that Age so the will to disguise his lover was intriguing), and mostly a lot of literary analysis to figure out who was hiding behind the metaphors. 

It was quite ambitious as well. 

Elrond pondered the matter. Even if the dissertation did not produce an answer, it would still be interesting and more than what had been said on the subject. Plus, having a young mind peer into the subject was always quite beneficial, like a breath of fresh air on an old manuscript… 

He replied: ”Good evening, the subject you offer is most interesting. Let’s meet in my office…”

***

Two days later, Elrond was walking to his office after the last class of his week. He was holding his documents and thinking about the conference he had been invited to in Lothlorien about gender dynamics. It was interesting but he had himself not delved in the subject that long. He would have to start preparing it now in order to present something substantial in three months…

As he approached his office, a familiar but miraculous sight offered itself to him. 

As the ghost of a half-remembered desire sat the blushing young guide, sitting on the ground, reading a book with one of his earbuds. His hair wasn’t in a bun, this time but flowed freely on his shoulders, touching the top of his thighs. One side was tucked behind his ear, allowing Elrond to observe his frown and the look of deep concentration as he was highlighting extracts from his battered book. 

He was still very lovely, Elrond couldn’t help but think as he slowed down to stop in front of the door to his office. Lindir was wearing a light grey sweater with burgundy trousers and deep brown faux-leather shoes. The sweater was pushed back to reveal thin wrists and spider fingers Elrond had not dared giving attention to. On the inside of the right wrist was a tattoo that read: ”And fortify your self in your decay.” 

It was a line from one of Maglor’s poems. It made Elrond suppress a smile. 

Then Lindir frowned deeper and lifted his head, removing his earbud. Elrond was stunned once again by his hazel eyes. He had often thought he had idealized them but now he knew he had remembered them accurately. 

”Hello, Lindir.” He greeted him with his ‘proper teacher’ smile. ”Have you been abandoned by your teacher?”

A small smile graced the young man’s lips. He then bit them nervously and Elrond had to force himself not to stare too much. 

”Actually, I’m waiting for him. Professor Oropherion referred me to him, and Professor Foncombe kindly agreed to hear more about my doctorate.” Lindir explained, closing his book on his highlighter. 

Oh. 

Well, then. 

Of course. 

Elrond had to admit that he stayed stunned for a moment, receiving the second blow of the day. 

The mysterious l. figwit was Lindir. 

And he had just agreed to supervise him for two years. 

And he has a very strict policy about not sleeping with students.


	3. And Summer's lease hath all too short a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! 
> 
> I'm. so. sorry. for being so late. I'm really really sorry. 
> 
> I think I owe you guys an explanation: I have recently received another rejection letter for my original fiction and that stuff really pulls me down. Going on writing while knowing you're not really good is so not easy. But I thought I owed you guys (and my poor characters) an update. You have been so very lovely in your comments, I can't thank you enough! 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and forgive me for being so late. 
> 
> Thanks again.

”Please, come in, Lindir.” Elrond said with a smile as the young man put his book back in his bag. 

Elrond sat behind his desk, glad of the obstacle it put between Lindir and him. It made him appear more like a teacher and Lindir more like a student, so less likely to be the object of any misplaced thoughts. 

He had not thought he would see Lindir again. A part of him had been glad for that fact. The temptation would be less to endure if he could dream of Lindir as the half-remembered fantasy of a heart starving for affection. 

Now Lindir was sitting right in front of him, trying to steady his hands as he explained what he had already said in his email. He still had trouble with eye contact. Normally, that is something Elrond corrects quite early in his students, forcing his gaze to be gentle the time of their exposé in order to feel more confident and look the examiner in the eye. Yet, he knew that eye contact with Lindir’s ridiculous hazel brown eyes would make him lose track of what the young man was saying and now was not the time. So he sat across Lindir and listened to him, jotting down notes and thinking about works he could make him read…

Dream-Lindir had been easy to dismiss after a time. He was pretty and young and Elrond cold picture the young man finding the idea of having an affair with an old professor repulsive. Elrond had found some men and women attractive since Celebrian’s death. He had pictured himself with them. But he had always known, always, that it was more an exercise of the imagination and the wish of finding some parts of his late wife in a warm and willing body. 

Real-Lindir was not so easily pushed aside. Elrond thought he was intelligent. He had the shyness of well-read people. Elrond actually cared about what Lindir said, even when he pushed his lust aside. He could picture Lindir as a friend, not only as a lover. Real-Lindir did look at him with eyes full of shyness and admiration. He had read his work. He had blushed when Elrond looked back at him. 

Elrond didn’t want to read too much in that. 

Lindir finally fell silent and his hands fell on his thighs. He gave Elrond an interrogative glance, silently asking him to supervise his doctorate. Elrond had a very, very inappropriate image of those same eyes asking him permission for a whole different thing. He quickly chased it away and gave Lindir his ‘teacher’ smile. 

”It is very interesting indeed. It does represent quite an amount of work, I hope you do realize it.” Elrond warned. 

”Yes, sir. I’m ready to work a lot on the subject.” Lindir assured him earnestly. 

He was passionate about the subject indeed. 

”Very well…” Elrond paused. He was still thinking about whether he should supervise Lindir’s doctorate or not. He wanted to. He was qualified to do so. But he was afraid of letting his own feelings cloud his judgement. He was afraid that, seeing Lindir for two years, he would yield to the temptation… 

Oh, for the Valar’s sake! What was he? A teenager? He could keep his hands off the young man. He could. He would need a diversion from someone else, but he could stop seeing Lindir as a potential lover. 

”I will gladly supervise your research, Lindir. I will probably ask Professor Oropherion to add some insight but I’ll be your main supervisor.”

Lindir’s eyes widened and a small smile graced his lips. His hands stopped torturing each other for a moment, just enough so that Elrond could see the black of his eyes slowly conquer the hazel. Their eyes met for a moment before Lindir lowered his own, like a servant in attendance of his master. Elrond wished for a moment that he could take his chin in his hand to lift his head and feast on the wonderful spectacle of Lindir’s eyes. He kept his hands firmly on his desk. 

”Thank you, sir. I hope I won’t disappoint you.” Lindir said earnestly. Unlike most of his students, Lindir didn’t seem to mind being passionate about an academic subject. It was refreshing. 

”Now, I wrote down some books that you might need. Some, you may already have, some you will find at the library. The rest, I have and will lend them to you.” Elrond explained, handing him the list. Lindir made sure not to make any contact when taking it. He was immediately absorbed in it, probably already dividing them into the three categories. ”As soon as you have the books, send me an email with the references of those you don’t have and we will meet again so I can give them to you. For next week, I also want you to organize your thoughts and make an abstract so we are sure we are on the same page.”

Lindir nodded eagerly and produced a small notebook on which he wrote everything down dutifully. Elrond liked that in a student. Things that are neatly done. He also liked the way he bit his lips in concentration before soothing it with his tongue. 

When Lindir lifted his head again, Elrond had a small polite smile before asking: ”I think that is all for me. If you have any questions…”

Lindir looked conflicted at the simple suggestion. He looked down and then, taking a deep breath, he looked up. 

”It’s just, that… hum… it’s…It’s nothing. I’m sorry. I uhm…I got confused.”

”You can ask me questions that you find stupid, Lindir.” Elrond reassured. 

”It’s… not that. I got really confused in what I wanted to ask.” Lindir blushed really deeply and Elrond, once again, had to replace it in context in order not to let his mind deviate. 

”Ask me when it’s clear again.” He said reassuringly. 

Lindir had a very small smile and looked down again. 

***

On the parking lot, Lindir found Feren with whom he took the bus. They walked to the bus stop, talking about their days. Feren had finally gotten a reply from Thranduil who had finally agreed to be his supervisor. 

”How did it go with Professor Foncombe?” Feren asked when he had finished his tale. 

Lindir’s smile fell a little and he felt his cheeks blush. 

”What? Did he want a blowjob in order to supervise you?” Feren asked. 

Under his prim and proper appearance, Feren had a very twisted mind. He and his friends were real party animals and Lindir had never seen such debauchery as what happened there. 

Of course, Lindir blushed because it was quite indecent to talk about blowjobs that loud in public, not because he had a perfect picture of himself on his knees for his supervisor. Not at all. 

”Professor Foncombe isn’t like that.” He retorted. 

”So what is it that makes you all flustered when his name is pronounced?” Feren asked with a devious smile. 

Immediately, another image of himself saying Professor Foncombe’s name surged in his mind. His blush deepened and he had to hide himself in his hair for a minute while Feren laughed at him. 

”He’s the man on the tour.” Lindir explained in a very small voice. 

”What man on the tour?” Feren asked. ”The one you told to get lost after he asked you out?”

That had been a regrettable incident but Lindir was sure Professor Foncombe was not that kind of man. Sadly. He wouldn’t mind being asked out by someone like him. With such gentle deep brown eyes and arms… Ah, those arms…

”No, the one who wrote the books I used for the exhibit and who actually showed at the exhibit, you remember?”

”Oh, yes. Him. Gaeruilwen wouldn’t stop talking about how you couldn’t get over him.”

”Yes, and that’s even less likely to happen now that he’s my supervisor.” Lindir said, done with himself and that terrible situation. 

”Oh, come on, it wouldn’t be the first time a student had slept with a teacher. Plus, it’s not like you weren’t of age.” Feren said, grinning. 

”He’s not like that, Feren. He’s a respectable professor. He could be with someone. He could have kids.” Lindir explained, more to convince himself than to convince his friend. He knew Feren wouldn’t let such things stop him. 

Thankfully the bus came and they changed the subject of the conversation. They discussed about books to find and that party Feren was going to. 

Lindir didn’t go to parties much. He didn’t like the mess. Sweaty bodies, alcohol that would be spilled on someone’s clothes, numbing music. He liked morning coffees and movie nights much better. Feren always told him that he was no fun but Lindir knew his friend didn’t mind. Lindir was a constant in Feren’s life since they met in Literature 101. Lindir was the one stable thing Feren could hold on to. 

They separated in the elevator, when Feren went to his flat to get ready for the party and Lindir went on the the fifth floor. He opened the door and was immediately greeted by his cat. Flower was not a very original name for a white angora cat but she didn’t answer to any other name since Lindir saved her from the shelter. She had been too old for most of the couples that came in to adopt a cat and the shelter would have gotten rid of her, had Lindir not decided he could take care of a cat. Flower and him got along really well, actually. They both liked to stay indoors, on the sofa, under some blankets. Sometimes, Lindir talked to her and she would rub her head on his hands to ask for attention. 

After feeding the hungry beast, he got rid of his shoes, his bag and fell on the sofa, in the middle of his books and rubbed his hands on his eyes, sighing loudly. 

What kind of situation he had gotten himself into? 

Some might think that the whole debacle was nothing more than a ridiculous crush. They might be right, but it was Lindir’s first ridiculous crush. 

Before arriving to uni, Lindir had always thought he was asexual and probably aromantic as well. He never really had any relationships, he had never been interested in it. He had always found the idea of kissing people quite unhygienic and therefore, totally repulsive. Nevermind going beyond kissing! People never really understood his reluctance. Once, a young man in his class had tried to kiss him at a party, to show him that it wasn’t that bad. 

Since then, Lindir avoided parties and being too close to people who might want to repeat the experience. He had rarely been as scared as that time when the boy had took him in his arms to force his lips on his. Thankfully it didn’t go beyond that and the boy had apologized but the fear had remained. 

Until that very famous Literature 101 class. Lindir had always liked literature and there were rumors that the teacher was a really good one. Apparently (Lindir had not really listened at that time, rumors weren’t that interesting) the teacher in question had had some very bad news last year and had decided to take less demanding classes in order to take care of his family. 

Lindir was ready for a literature class. 

He was not ready for the teacher. 

The man had stepped in the class, a stern look on his handsome face, dark circles under his eyes, a perfect suit on his back and arms that stretched the fabric when he laid his books down on the table. Lindir had been on the front row and had bitterly regretted it. The man’s voice was very gentle. Sometimes, he lost his words, but mostly, he was a wonderful teacher, offering wonderful insights to the amazed young Lindir.

That year, Lindir had kissed Feren from his own free will. Nothing came of it but a solid friendship and the stunned realization that Lindir might not be lost to sexual pleasure. 

The teacher’s name was Professor Foncombe and after that year, he had stopped taking less-demanding classes. 

***

Lindir was trying to cook in his tiny kitchen with Flower in his arms (her favourite spot) when his email alert rang. He took his phone from his back pocket, keeping an eye on the stove. It was probably yet another add for something he didn’t care about…

… It was an email from Professor Foncombe. 

”Good evening, Lindir. 

I hope I’m not disturbing you. I just wanted to ask whether you were still working during the school year. If so, don’t hesitate to tell me if the deadlines are too short or interfere with your work.

Also, if I’m to be your supervisor, you should be attending my class on Mondays. Here is the bibliography…”

Lindir nervously tapped his phone on his lips. How should he answer? Because the mail prompted an answer. He never really had any extensive mail correspondance with a teacher before… He bit his lips for a moment, trying to think of something not too stupid to say. 

Suddenly, Flower planted her claws in his shirt, making him wince and remember the tofu cooking in his pan. 

Later that evening, as he sat eating his pasta with tofu and cashew nuts, the young man switched his computer on to reply to his supervisor. 

”Good evening, sir. 

I do not work during the school year, only during vacations. My work will not interfere with the research. 

I’m already attending your class on Mondays. I hope I’m on the list because the administration said I was…”

The Imladris administration was one of the most efficient but you were never safe from the occasional system error that made you have to fill all the papers again. 

An hour later, while Lindir was washing the dishes, hating the task more each night, a new mail came through. He would have liked to say he didn’t drop everything in the sink to run to his computer, scaring Flower, but he really couldn’t lie about that. 

”I have checked and you are on my list indeed. You are a very discreet young man, Lindir. You shouldn’t be that discreet, as I’m sure you have interesting things to say…”

Was Lindir truly blushing in front of his computer? He didn’t want to know for sure but his face had grown hot and a bashful smile was hurting his cheeks. 

He went back to finish the dishes and think about the answer he could write for his supervisor. 

***

The week had been busy in a good way, Lindir found. He had spent several hours in the library trying to find all the books for his classes. Some he found, the others he had to buy with the money he made in the summer. Feren and him often shared books in order not to be broke at the beginning of the order. Plus, you might say what you want about Feren but he was nearly as obsessed with order as Lindir was, so sharing books never became a nightmare. 

In-between long library sessions, they had tea, enjoying the last of the summer. Lindir felt happy, then. Like the calm before the storm. 

In the evenings, he would nervously wait for a mail from his supervisor while doing his best to begin reading the books he had found, Flower sleeping in his lap. 

Their emails had begun really professional and impersonal but as they kept corresponding, it was slowly beginning to become more and more personal. Lindir tried his best not to tell a lot about his life, not wanting to bore his supervisor but Professor Foncombe seemed genuinely interested in what happened in his life. Lindir never dared to ask the questions back. He wanted to, he really did, but he was still a student. He had no right to ask. 

Soon, Professor Foncombe knew all about Lindir’s parents who were guides and had written several travel books about almost everywhere in Middle-Earth. They moved a lot and Lindir always had trouble making friends so he spent most of his time with his parents and their friends. Then, Lindir had wanted to have an education, go to college. So his parents left him in Imladris with some money and went back to travelling. They still talked on Skype but Lindir only saw them once or twice a year. It wasn’t really a problem: he liked his parents but he also liked the stability. In the summer they helped him find odd jobs and when he had free time, he liked going on treks on his own. (He hadn’t mentioned Flower yet, he wasn’t sure it would interest his supervisor) 

The subject of the treks seemed to interest the professor, however. He said he had himself done quite a few treks when he was younger but he had stopped when his children were born. 

That night, Lindir had cried in his pillow, disgusted with himself. How could he have such terrible thoughts about someone with kids, and probably married as well? Professor Foncombe had been so nice to him and all Lindir could think about was how it would be nice to fall asleep in his arms. 

***

Monday found Lindir wishing he was still in his apartment. He wasn’t sure he was ready for the day ahead of him. He had his eternal paper cup of green tea in hand and was vaguely considering going back to bed. Feren, sitting in the bus by his side, was not looking so well either. 

”Remind me not to party at Haldir’s on Sunday nights.” He said, holding his head in his hands. 

”I did remind you,” Lindir replied. ”But you didn’t listen.”

”They said it would be a small party. Nothing too fancy. They had enough wine to drown a zoo.” 

”You didn’t have to drink all the wine.”

”It was free wine, duh.” Feren replied before groaning and holding his head again. 

”Well, you should just enjoy it while it’s summer. It’s going to be much harder to walk around with sunglasses in the winter sun.” Lindir concluded, looking back at the familiar streets through the bus’ window. 

”Don’t worry, it’s not everyday that Professor Oropherion’s son is having his first week-end in Imladris.” Feren just said, offering no other explanation. 

He wished he were somewhere else. Somewhere he could be alone, walking near the Bruinen with no one to dream about. 

He had to guide Feren to his classroom while his friend was trying to make jokes with his summer job. 

When he arrived in front of his classroom, he thought about doing what he always did: sitting near the back, in the sea of anonymous faces. It was always more reassuring, more comforting, to know he could blend with the others and not be for a little while. However, Professor Foncombe hadn’t seen him the last time and was bound to wonder whether Lindir was just not showing up even after assuring him he was. He couldn’t have that. 

So Lindir finished his tea and walked to one of the first rows. 

***

Elrond parked his car in the parking lot and let his daughter hop out and directly to Aragorn who was sat on his bike. The young man kissed Arwen on the lips, his arm wrapping around her, the other offering her some of his coffee. Elrond smiled. 

Aragorn was not a bad guy. He was a decent person. He even stopped smoking when he started frequenting Arwen. Elrond knew Arwen was capable of handling a relationship by herself and she loved Aragorn very much. Aragorn never once broke her heart. 

Yet, Elrond lived in the terror of having to see her daughter loose someone dear to her again. The departure of Elladan and Elrohir almost immediately after Celebrian’s death had been terribly hard for Elrond and Arwen. He doubted they could handle another person leaving. He doubted Arwen would want to stay with him if Aragorn chose he was no longer interested in her. She would leave with her brothers and Elrond would find himself on his own. He doubted he could survive that. 

He had gloomy thoughts for such a nice morning. Mondays would do that to him. Elrond went to the teachers’ lounge, nodding to some of his students on the way. He tried to spot long brown hair and a wrist tattoo but Lindir remained out of sight. 

Their relationship, if he could call it that way, was ever stranger. They had spent the week exchanging emails about the research, their private lives… Well, Elrond had mostly asked the questions. He could see that Lindir wanted to return the questions but never dared ask. It reminded him the imbalance in their relationship. Elrond remained Lindir’s teacher, not matter how well they got along. 

No matter how much Lindir was revealing himself the most delightful young man he had ever met in a very long time. They shared a lot of interest: they both liked treking and hiking, they liked poetry and Lothlorien Second Age movies. They both liked classical Noldo music as well, even if Elrond could tell Lindir liked other styles he had not yet dared to discuss. Lindir apparently liked spending time cooking. One evening, Elrond had asked what he was cooking and the answer had made him hungry in front of his own computer screen. 

Elrond couldn’t help himself and keep sending new emails to which Lindir replied almost straight away. The lust he had felt and was certain could be repressed was subtly changing to a certain fondness that was way more inconvenient. He had caught himself watching his mails, waiting eagerly for a new message from his student and even think of what Lindir might like when doing grocery shopping. It was going too fast. 

”Hey, you look like your book just received a bad review.” Thranduil’s voice shook him out of his rêverie. 

”And you look like you had a very productive week-end.” Elrond replied, seeing Thranduil nursing a cup of coffee with sunglasses indoors. 

”Well, what can I tell you? My son loves to party and I can’t say no. Not to eyes like that.” 

Thranduil had a big smile on his face. Elrond frowned, wondering since when he had seen his friend like this. He almost looked like a teenager again. Underneath all his logic and common sense, Elrond couldn’t help but be jealous: here he was, staying home and pinning after a student he didn’t let himself touch while Thranduil was partying with students all week-end. He sighed. 

”Oh.” Thranduil said, suddenly serious. ”I guess the week-end wasn’t as fun for you. You should come to the party next week-end. Have a drink. Live a little.”

”You know what? I actually might.” Elrond replied. 

”Times are serious, then.” Thranduil stated, standing in front of Elrond, looking right into him with his icy blue eyes. He knew how Elrond generally avoided parties. ”What’s up?” 

”Could you please stop speaking like that? We’re not in middle-school anymore.” 

”I’m serious. Meet me for lunch. You can’t say no. I’ll accept no excuses. Lunch.”

With that, he let Elrond go and fetch the books in his locker in order to bother the dwarvish history teacher, Thorin Oakenshield. 

The literature professor sighed again and went to his classroom. As soon as he had taken his place behind the desk, the students fell silent and the class began. 

Half-way through a summary of political context, Elrond spotted Lindir. He was taking notes, his brow frowned in concentration, the sleeves of his deep blue sweater rolled up to free his wrists. His hair was in a braid from which he had forgotten another tress, as if out of habit. He looked incredibly lovely, serious as he was. 

Elrond only noticed he had stopped for longer than expected when Lindir lifted his head, eyes interrogating, waiting for the next sentence. 

Elrond couldn’t help but smile a little, as in acknowledgement. Lindir immediately lowered his eyes, his cheeks blushing already. Lindir did smile back, shyly looking back at Elrond. 

He resumed his lesson. He was way too old for all this to happen to him.


	4. Sometimes too hot the eyes of Heaven shines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Thanks so much for your comments and your kiddos, you are so great! 
> 
> Here's the new chapter, sorry I'm a little late, I just went back to school and... well, what can I say? My supervisor is not nearly as sexy as Elrond... But well, it's all very interesting and it keeps me quite busy as well. So, sorry if the chapters take longer to come. 
> 
> Just to warn you: the rating will start to go up in the future chapters. 
> 
> Enjoy this one and please, comment! Thank you so much for reading this.

Back at the café, Thranduil and Elrond ordered food with their tea and coffee. Thranduil was telling him everything about the parties he had been too over the week-end. Hearing him, Elrond wasn’t surprised to see the dark circles under his eyes. The man probably hadn’t slept at all this week-end. 

Nevertheless, Elrond was glad Legolas had settled in and had enjoyed himself. He had never seen Thranduil as positive as he was when talking about the young man. 

Elrond also learnt that his daughter had been to one of the parties with Aragorn. Well, that theatre evening hadn’t been really believable from the start but he knew she had worked all day and was allowed some fun. 

After a pause, Thranduil set down his warp and asked very seriously, his hands joined on the table in front of him: ”So, why the long face today?” 

Elrond closed his eyes for a moment. He had hoped Thranduil would forget about that. The class had somewhat lifted his spirits (Lindir’s presence too) and now he was brought back to the very fact that finding such joy in seeing his lovely student was a problem. A very big one. 

”It’s not that serious. It was Monday morning. It’s alright now…” Elrond started.

”I’ll involve Gandalf.” Thranduil threatened. 

The literature professor looked at him with wide, betrayed eyes. ”I hope you’re not serious.”

”That’s retribution for threatening me with Galadriel. Now, out with the big secret or I’ll make you drink until you spill everything.” 

Elrond wanted to sigh. He looked all around him to make sure no one would hear what he was about to say. When he looked back at Thranduil, the history teacher had a gleeful smile that screamed ‘it’s about to be dirty and I’ll be there to bitch, rest assured.’

Well, it’s not like he could confess this to anyone else… 

”This student you gave my email to…”

”Yeah, did you accept him? You know what happened to the last one.”

”Let’s not speak about Aragorn right now.”

”Well, at least your sons are too far for him. What did he do? Tried to win you over with a blow job?”

”What? By the Valar, no! Lindir would never…” 

”Is it Lindir already?” Thranduil interrupted with a huge grin that presaged nothing good. 

 

”Yes, it’s Lindir already because I supervise his doctorate and we exchanged mails all week.”

”Go on…”

”Well… It’s…” Elrond paused, trying to find his words. ”He’s a very nice and delightful young man. He happens to like the same movies and music I like. He is very interesting and, from what I read, he’s also very promising…”

”And let me guess, he has a nice ass.” Thranduil was having a field trip with it. 

”I didn’t…” Elrond started. 

”Don’t lie to my face, Elrond.” 

”He has a nice ass. He is very lovely and I catch myself thinking about… Lindir and I in… intimate scenarii quite often. And I know I shouldn’t. He’s my student and he’s really young.”

Elrond played with his teacup a little, avoiding Thranduil’s piercing blue eyes. The history professor kept silent for a while, which was really unusual. 

”You just can’t help yourself… Thinking about him and imagining that, in his young admirative eyes, there is something like love that could save you from your loneliness, the miserable life in which you allowed yourself to grow old.” Thranduil stated. 

Thranduil had always been quite dramatic. Elrond wouldn’t put it that way. Elrond would say that Lindir was like a breath of fresh hair. That he was the last push he needed in order to jump off the crumbling cliff and change things. He was motivation in a shy smile. 

”Yes, you could say that.” Elrond acquiesced, feeling that Thranduil was having similar problems. 

”Let me tell you, Elrond.” Thranduil said very seriously. The lettuce and tomato warp in his hands didn’t help. ”It’s tempting but you shouldn’t do it. Not just because he’s your student but because you’re probably seeing too much into it. Your Lindir probably just wants a good grade. He doesn’t mean to manipulate you but he just agrees with you. You say you like a movie, he thinks he has to like it too. Even if he agrees to be in a relationship with you, you know that it won’t be a healthy one. He’ll be afraid to tell you what he thinks because you’re also his supervisor. You’ll think ‘This relationship is great, we go along really well’ but in fact he just won’t dare to tell you what’s wrong. And when you hand him his grade and his doctorate is finished, he’ll find an excuse to leave you. You have to understand, Elrond, for you, he’s the last chance at romance, for him, you’re just another ex he’ll be ashamed of.”

”Spoken like someone who has experience.” Elrond said, his throat tight. He wanted to joke but it came out strained. 

”I did my doctorate too.” Thranduil said and didn’t need to say anymore. 

Elrond finished his tea. 

”I need to go. I’ll see you around.”

***

Lindir was still reading, waiting by the door of his office. His wrists were still bare and his braid was following the graceful curve of his neck. Seeing him like this, Elrond couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by his loveliness superposed with the deep, harsh truth of Thranduil’s words. 

Lindir didn’t deserve this. 

He stopped for a minute to gather himself, put his ‘teacher’ smile on, and walked to his lovely student. 

The bright smile Lindir gave him as soon as he lifted his head broke his heart. 

He wanted nothing more than take his hand, touch his tattoo and hold him in his arms. The longing of the thing that was just in front of him made his brain ache. He ignored it and greeted Lindir. 

He knew Lindir could tell something was wrong. Of course, he wasn’t stupid. As he invited Lindir in, the student’s smile had dwindled to a polite but tight smile. Elrond couldn’t help but think he had played with him, kept his hopes up before letting him down. He couldn’t forgive himself, only promise never to do this again. 

Eye contact was even more difficult. Elrond tried to be nice and relaxed. He did his best to smile, to put Lindir at ease. He lent him his books but the thought of Lindir having something of his no longer delighted him. He imagined the young man, playing with the book, trying not to think of how he had been cheated by someone he was supposed to trust. 

Thank the Valar Elrond hadn’t let anything serious happen. 

Lindir gave him his abstract and they discussed it. The student barely lifted his eyes from his notebook but he jotted everything down diligently. When their eyes met, Lindir looked down so quickly that Elrond wanted to walk to his side, take his face in his hands, kiss his forehead, and tell him it was for the best. 

They still worked pretty well. After thirty minutes, they had re-centered the subject and listed the steps to take in order to study every aspect. Elrond always left some room for his students to do their own research (it was the point of the exercise after all) but liked to actually supervise them so they wouldn’t come in after a semester saying that they needed to start over. 

”So, do you have any other question, Lindir?” He asked finally. 

The young man looked over at his notes for a minute before shaking his head. ”No, I think we covered everything.” 

”That’s fine. If you have any, just send me an email.”

Lindir looked shocked for a second, letting his eyes focus on his notes while his mind probably raced. He swallowed and nodded. ”I will. Thanks, professor.” The smile was still tight and Elrond had to look away. 

He couldn’t understand how he had let him even hope a little. He was supposed to be the adult here!

As he guided Lindir out of his office, he saw another student waiting in the corridor. He looked like he had an eventful week-end too. Lindir practically beamed. With a last goodbye, he went to the student and put an arm around his waist. The other student looked surprised but put his arm around his shoulders, holding him. 

As Elrond turned around, he heard the student whisper: ”Are you okay?” To which Lindir replied in a very small voice: ”Yes, I’m fine.”

The literary professor closed his door and rubbed his hands on his face for a while. 

He had done the right thing. 

He had. 

The pain in his chest was almost unbelievable. Thranduil was right. Thranduil had the experience. 

He took a deep breath. He could do it. 

He walked to his desk, organized his books and started working. 

***

Lindir was sipping his tea, strongly considering buying some cake to drown his misery in sugar. 

Feren was sitting next to him in the bus, looking at him as if he were a very complicated puzzle. 

”Seriously, Lindir. What happened. You look… miserable. And I’m the one who only slept three hours this week-end.” Feren tried to cheer his friend up. 

”It’s nothing.” Lindir said, looking through the window. ”I had a crush on my supervisor and he sent me a couple of nice emails and I got my hopes up but it turns out I have too much imagination.” His voice was almost lifeless. He looked dejected. 

”You look like you could use a little party to cheer you up.” Feren suggested with a smile. 

Lindir winced. ”I don’t like parties. I just want to eat cake and ice cream and be in my flat with my cat since it’s all I’ll ever do with my life, it seems.” 

”You have a broad vision of your life. You’ll be alright. You like eating ice cream in your flat with your cat.” Feren laughed but he still pulled Lindir into a hug while the young man tried to balance his cup of tea. 

”I can’t believe I actually thought he would find me interesting. He probably thought he was forced to do small talk with me. That’s so embarrassing.” 

”Listen, my friend. You had a crush and it didn’t turn out well. It happens. It’s not the end of the world. If you’re still not okay by the end of the week, I’ll take you to a party where you can meet a nice man who will find you irresistible and will kiss you until you have forgotten everything.” Feren reassured him. 

”He won’t find me irresistible since I’m going to eat all my chocolate and all my ice cream this week.” 

”He’ll find you nice all the same. He’s a very special guy. ”

”M’kay.” Lindir agreed with the ghost of a smile on his lips. 

”That’s our stop. Come, we still have to study before we party this week-end.” 

***

Work did help. Lindir fell into an easy routine of waking up, working, getting ready for class, going to class, going to the library, and then working again. The familiar motions of researching, reading, taking notes, comparing informations, and drawing conclusions, reassured him. 

Sometimes, in the evening, he would receive an email from his supervisor. They didn’t have the same taste anymore. Lindir remembered a time where he was excited about Professor Foncombe’s emails. It was like something to wait for when the evenings he spent alone went on and on. It was the heady mix of conflicted emotions that shook his heart and made him feel so alive. Now, the emails were only formalities. Another obligation at the end of the day. He would always wait an hour or so before answering, keeping it short and polite but nothing more. 

He had put the romance novel he had started the last week of the summer behind the other books in his shelf, and had started reading some sci-fi from Rohan. 

Feren was certainly a help. His best friend would occasionally make sassy comments at couples they saw in the streets, making him laugh and feel better about himself. He shouldn’t but he did. 

Friday afternoon found Lindir almost half asleep in the bus. Feren was texting his friends to know where the party will be at and what kind of alcohol they had to bring. 

”I don’t know about the party thing, Feren.” Lindir mumbled, trying to keep his eyes open. 

”Don’t you pull this on me right now.” His friend replied, barely lifting his eyes from his phone. ”I just got us into Haldir’s party tonight.”

”But I’m soooo sleepy. I’ve been working all week.”

”Take a nap before the party. Drink some coffee. You’ll be your usual grandma next Friday night. Tonight we party. You know you need it.”

 

Feren was right, Lindir thought. He wasn’t very fond of parties but in the light of recent events, a change would be welcome. It was just the one party. He was going to forget about everything and then he could go back to his normal life. 

Lindir fed his cat, spent twenty minutes in front of his wardrobe and finally decided to nap. 

His phone ringing right under his ear woke him five minutes before his alarm clock. Lindir groaned and cast a death glare to Feren’s name on his phone’s screen. 

”Feren, we are supposed to meet in an hour.”

”Yeah, sleepy head, and I guess you haven’t even picked your clothes yet.”

”Stop being in my head.”

”I’m coming over in twenty minutes. Get in the shower now.”

”Feren, no, wait…”

But Feren had hung up on him. Lindir sighed and hug his pillow closer. He had to shower anyway. Feren was bound to arrive and he would surely mock his ‘I visited Lorien’ pyjamas. Flower was sleeping curled against him and moving her was quite heartbreaking. He made amends as best as he could by putting her special pillow against her in his place. She blinked at him before going right back to sleep. 

Lindir went to the shower, carefully putting his pyjamas away. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had very faint circles under his eyes. It always took him a while to get used to the academic rhythm. The natural light tan he had gotten guiding tourists up and down the Bruinen had already began to fade, leaving his pale skin shine through. His hair was still in a bun but he knew it was a mess. Nothing looked less sexy than him right now. He just looked tired. He sighed. He hoped the party didn’t turn out to be too much of a bad idea. 

He turned the hot water on.

***

Twenty five minutes later, Lindir was busy drying his hair with a towel, standing in front of his wardrobe when he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He swore quietly and went to open to Feren. 

His friend was wearing a white t-shirt that left very little to the imagination underneath an open plaid shirt and soft beige trousers. He had two beers in his hands.

”They won’t let us come in if we arrive with just two beers.” Lindir merely said, letting Feren come in and returning to stare at his clothes. His friend knew how to dress for a party. He didn’t. He was always too formal or too much like his everyday self. He was going to be ridiculous, especially next to Feren who looked so sexy and at ease everywhere he went. (Except on Monday mornings) 

”It’s not for the party. It’s our pre-party party. Drink some so you won’t be so stiff and stressed out.”

Lindir reluctantly agreed. 

Flower, who had been woken by the racket, jumped out of the bed and went to examine the intruder. Feren petted her for a minute before turning back to her owner. ”So, do you know what you’re going to wear?” 

”That is the precise matter.” Lindir replied before gesturing to his wardrobe. Feren stood next to him, examining the contents. 

Ten minutes later, Lindir walked in his bedroom with a plate of home-made sweet potato fries. Feren had laid out three outfits on his bed. 

”Tadaaaa! What do you think? Oh, fries. Thanks.” Feren took one and ate it with the air of satisfaction of someone who just rescued a desperate situation. 

Lindir had to agree it was a pretty desperate situation. He turned to the outfits waiting for him on the bed. 

”By the Valar, Feren, I really can’t wear that! How do I even have that in my closet?”

***

Elrond was really annoyed. He was annoyed at himself because he hadn’t found any excuses not to go to Thranduil’s party. He could have but he hadn’t. He had wanted to go and had followed his instinct. Now that he was parked in front of the fateful place, he was wondering why he was putting himself through this. 

The gigantic house of his colleague was illuminated by colourful lights coming out of the windows and a heavy beat was pulsing as music was blaring. People were coming inside with a quantity of alcohol Elrond hadn’t seen since his college days. Most of them were students but he did spot Gandalf, Bard and other of their colleagues. He could already hear people chanting ”Drink! Drink! Drink!” like an ancient, powerful spell. Then, cheers. 

It was still time to go back. Elrond would find an excuse. He had plenty up his sleeve. 

But what would he go back to? Arwen was out with Aragorn (probably at this very party but Thranduil had promised him it would be so large that they wouldn’t have to meet) and the house was silent and empty. He knew what his Friday nights looked like. Even when he wanted to do something new, it always ended up with him in his bed, plagued by depressing thoughts. 

All week, the admirative hazel eyes of a certain young blushing student had haunted him - along with less innocent images - and right now, he did not want to be left alone with them. 

He got out of the car, grabbed the wine bottles on the passenger seat and entered the house, letting the music and the lights assault him. 

***

”So, what do we choose?” Feren asked, in front of the vodka section of the shop. 

”Was painting my nails black truly necessary?” Lindir asked for the tenth time, looking at how it clashed with his skin. 

”Yes, it added some edgy touch with your style. Plus, you know you love painting your nails.”

”I do…” Lindir sighed. ”What do you think about tequilla?”

”If you want a good one, you’ll say goodbye to your rent money.” Feren replied. 

”Beer?” Lindir suggested. 

”Unoriginal. We’re better than that.”

”Gin? This bottle isn’t that expensive.”

Feren looked at him and nodded with a smile. ”Sounds good. I’ll grab a bottle of vodka with it and they’ll all kiss us welcome!” 

”Vodka? But we’ll have to buy all the stuff to make cocktails with.” Lindir protested. 

Feren laughed and shook his head. ”Oh, my poor dear friend… This is a Professor Oropherion party. The only thing you need with your vodka is more vodka.”

Lindir nodded, not quite sure what he was getting himself into. 

[This scene has no real purpose but I really liked the mental picture of Lindir and Feren in a liquor store and I wanted to share so, here it goes…]

***

When Feren walked in, several people cheered. Lindir felt quite nervous at that. He was mentally preparing to follow his friend awkwardly around the whole time. The loud music and the lights already made him nervous. The utter chaos that reigned inside didn’t help. 

A young man, slightly older that Lindir and Feren came to them and welcomed them in as if he owned the place. He guided them to one of the makeshift bars where they put their bottles and got drinks. The music was too loud to talk so Lindir just hugged the man and no formal introductions were made. 

Lindir pretended not to see Feren exchanges signs with his friend apparently involving him. He tried to guess what was in his drink before drinking it but soon gave up and tasted it. Wine. Good red wine. Lindir drank again. 

Soon Feren took his hand and guided him towards a small group in the kitchen. The music was less deafening here, and that meant that everyone was talking, which didn’t help. Feren introduced him to a group of history students that were Feren party friends. The older ones were working on their PhDs and the younger one had just entered to college. Lindir didn’t catch all their names. He just remembered Meludir (because he was so very young), Elros, and Eredhon. 

Eredhon winked at him in a way that made Lindir blush and pretend to drink in order to mask it. Eredhon just laughed and the conversation moved. Thranduil was the main subject. They were all wondering what they would do in order to be chosen as the professor’s next lover. Apparently, he was a formidable lover. 

”Shame he doesn’t sleep with his students.” Elros shrugged. 

”Lindir could try.” Meludir said cheekily. 

They all laughed and Lindir wondered where he could get another drink. ”I think I’ve had enough with professors right now.” He declared. 

”Oooh, that’s a story I would very much like to hear.” Eredhon said with a very intimidating smile. ”Give him another drink so he can tell all about it.”

Lindir pretended to put his hair back behind his ear in order to look elsewhere. Elros quickly gave him another cup. 

”It’s nice, thanks.” The literature student said. ”But you’ll be disappointed. Nothing really happened.”

He shouldn’t have drunk that cup so quickly. This one had vodka in it. Just vodka. 

”There are some teachers here tonight.” Meludir commented. ”So, in case it’s your thing, you know…”

Okay, that mouth looked way too pure to be saying things like that. How old was he even? 

”Anyway, if you get bored with teachers struggling with morals or wives or whatever might prevent them to hit that, just come find me, a cute thing like you, I’ll eat you whole.” Eredhon winked at him again before sliding between Feren and Lindir. ”Now, if you’ll excuse me, someone just winked at me and I must investigate the matter. My offer still stands, cutie.”

With that, Eredhon left, slapping Lindir’s ass for good measure. 

Lindir thought he was going to die from embarrassment. Feren’s friends laughed. ”He’s always like that. Don’t worry.” Feren reassured him. 

Lindir couldn’t help thinking it was nice to have someone being interested in him, even just for sex. At least, he hadn’t concealed any of his intentions. It was nice. Lindir caught himself thinking about Eredhon’s indecent proposition before rejecting it. No, Eredhon was probably used to have good partners in his bed. Poor virgin Lindir would probably disappoint him. 

”Hey, I think it’s Orelion, here, on the dance floor.” Meludir noticed. ”Everyone finish their drink and let’s join him.” 

Lindir looked at Feren for guidance and, when his friend finished his drink, he did the same. The vodka burnt his throat and he was beginning to feel slightly more relaxed. He allowed the music of the dance floor to wash over him. Feren hold his hips and helped him sway along with the beat of the music. They smiled at each other before Feren closed his eyes to savour the pure carnal feeling of freedom dancing in a crowd a sweating bodies procured. 

***

Elrond was smoking in the patio. He didn’t usually smoke but that was the only excuse he could find to step away from the party for a while. Most of the smokers preferred the spot near the bay window, where they could hear the music. The patio was partially shrouded in the shadows of the night and the music was just a faint beat, making it Elrond’s perfect haven for a minute of fresh air. 

By what he could hear, it was also a perfect haven for a couple a few feet away, completely drowned in darkness. He couldn’t see them, thankfully but the noises were telling enough. He watched the ribbons of smoke curl in the cold air. 

Suddenly, he heard a voice: ”By the Valar, Meludir, are you alright?” followed by someone clearly retching. 

He looked in the direction of the noise and saw a young man emptying his stomach near a tree while another one was holding his hair out of the way. 

The figure was familiar. Elrond walked towards the two of them, to see if they needed any help, despite the younger one assuring his friend he had had worse. 

”Do you need any help…” The professor started when suddenly, he stopped, stunned by the recognition. 

That lovely young man with skinny black jeans that seemed sprayed on his perfect legs and his white t-shirt slightly damp with sweat, was nobody else but the figure that faithfully assaulted his sleep and made him dream of wicked, wicked things. 

”Oh, professor Foncombe…”

”Good evening Lindir.”


	5. And often is his gold complexion dimmed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Here's the well-awaited chapter! I hope you enjoyed the last one, since I've received but a few comments (which were very nice, I can't thank you enough) This one was quicker to write because half of it had been written when I wrote the last chapter. Things are becoming quite tough at the uni so the next chapter won't come so quickly. I'm sorry. 
> 
> (Just in passing: writing comments about how you feel about the chapters really motivate me to sit and write for those two after midnight when I've finished all my work =)) 
> 
> So, I've upped the rating from T to M. Nothing quite so serious happens but it will sooner or later so, I'm sorry if I've disappointed you. But soon, I promise! Just a few heartbreaks first. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading and commenting, you're all so great! Hope you enjoy reading.

The young man between them tried to get up, forcing Lindir to let Elrond’s eyes go. He looked at his friend, gently stroking his back in a reassuring manner. 

”You should go home, Meludir.” He advised. ”I’ll call you a cab.”

”No, that’s okay, I swear. I’ll just grab a ride with Galion when he’s ready to go.” Meludir protested. 

”Galion won’t be finished until morning, you know that. You can’t just pass out somewhere. I’ll call you a cab.” Lindir replied, gentle but firm. 

While he waited for the taxi company to answer his call, Lindir’s eyes met Elrond’s again, and had a lot more trouble breaking the eye contact this time. 

Elrond helped Meludir stand straight and they all walked back to the front lawn to wait for the cab. A small group of people were having their own little party there, smoking, drinking and looking at the stars. Meludir sat on the grass and rubbed his eyes, yawning. Lindir sat by him, glad to rest his feet. The night was cool and still, in sharp contrast with the party going on inside. It was a really cool party but Lindir had been dancing for what seemed like hours. 

At first, he had danced with Feren but then his friend had found another partner and left Lindir to dance alone until Galion had taken him in and danced with him for a few songs. Then it had been a stranger, quite taller than him but nice all the same. Then, there had been this one weird guy with wandering hands that had made him very uncomfortable. He had quickly left the dance floor to look for a drink. In the kitchen, he had found Meludir doing drinking games with a young woman who did not look like someone you can mess with. Now, the young man was in for a hell of a hangover in the morning. Lindir really wished he hadn’t lost Feren on the dance floor. 

But now professor Foncombe was here. He was standing beside them, eyes on the road to look for their taxi. He was wearing a black shirt that suited him quite well. Lindir would have never imagined his supervisor to own black clothes. He was glad for the surprise. 

Oh, stop that, he berated himself. You know he isn’t interested. You’re here to forget him and everything about him. You really don’t need another broken heart. Maybe I should take this taxi too and text Feren. 

No, he couldn’t do that to his friend. Plus, he was here to party and he wasn’t done yet. He hadn’t even kissed someone to chase all his mental images about kissing his supervisor. He couldn’t let this man (with those wonderful arms and perfect cheekbones, his brain supplied) ruin his night out. 

When the professor looked down at him, Lindir averted his eyes and looked at his shoes. 

The taxi finally came and Lindir helped Meludir in while Elrond was talking to the driver. 

”Don’t forget to text your friends so they can know where you are. And drink water before you go to sleep. Be careful, Meludir.” Lindir reminded him, stroking his hair gently. 

”Yeah, I will. Thanks Lindir. Thanks mysterious man Lindir can’t stop looking at. Good night.” Meludir replied before Lindir could close the door on him. 

He felt his cheeks burn and kept his eyes on the taxi as it pulled away and disappeared in the night. Great. Now, how could he even look in the professor’s direction? He felt his eyes on him and it made him even more uncomfortable. 

Not, it wasn’t true. Professor Foncombe looking at him did not make him uncomfortable. That was precisely the issue here. When someone was looking at him, Lindir always felt uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but wondering if he had done something stupid or if there was something on his shirt or whatever. Professor Foncombe’s eyes were always soft and benevolent. He was always gentle in everything he did. He made Lindir feel safe about sharing his opinions about poems, about critics… He made Lindir feel safe. 

”Fancy seeing you here.” Professor Foncombe interrupted his thoughts with his deep gentle voice. Lindir could detect a hint of laughter in his voice. He toyed with the hem of his t-shirt before answering. 

”Fancy seeing you here, sir.” He replied back, looking up at him with a small smile. 

”Please, don’t call me sir here. Elrond is fine for tonight. Aren’t you supposed to study for your doctorate?” 

Lindir had to take a moment. Elrond. His name was Elrond. And he had the permission to use it. Lindir really, really wanted an excuse to say it, even only to taste it on his tongue. But the shock was quickly dismissed when Elrond (using it in his own mind was already quite heady) mentioned the doctorate. 

”Oh, sir… hum… Elrond… I wanted to tell you… I’ve looked into that metaphor you asked me to study.” The excitement of his new discovery suddenly wrapped around him, pulsing through his veins, like fresh coffee after a sleepless night. He had felt the same when, sitting in his couch, in front of the poem, the idea had hit him. It always felt that way. New ideas, lights that shredded through the veil of darkness long-forgotten texts were shrouded with, always made him feel excited, feel like an adventurer who just opened a chest of treasures. ”I think it is a metaphor for…”

He looked at Elrond again and his smile made him remember where he was. 

”Of course, that is so not the place to discuss about it. I’m really sorry, I should let you enjoy your evening. I’m so sorry. I’ll send you an email or tell you on Monday…”

The alcohol was still warming him, making everything look easier, quicker, lighter. Lindir wanted to frown and rub his eyes, as if he could rub the alcohol off. The last thing he wanted was to look like a fool (even more) in front of his supervisor. 

”Trust me,” Elrond interrupted him. ”I’ll enjoy my evening just as well, hearing what you have to say about the grave and earth metaphor. Come, we’ll find a quieter place.”

Okay, that absolutely didn’t look like an indecent proposition, Lindir thought. And that will absolutely do not be stored somewhere for further reference. 

And then Elrond took his hand in his. 

The young man felt his heart flutter, ready to explose. Every nerve was alight and turned to the hand in his. He tried to close himself to the sensation. All evening, he had people rubbing against him as they passed him by, as they danced with him but now, this simple contact, his hand in Elrond’s… It set him on fire. It awoke everything he had tried so hard to suppress.

As he looked around to spot Feren, Lindir saw Eredhon looking at him. He was arranging his hair which looked a little disheveled. As their eyes met, Eredhon winked at him again. Lindir just pointed to Elrond in front of him. Eredhon raised an eyebrow and shook his head before disappearing back in the crowd. Lindir wondered if he had just made a mistake. Eredhon was nice. Eredhon was handsome. Eredhon was direct. He wouldn’t be in this situation, had he met Eredhon first. 

Then, Elrond’s hand just tightened his grip on his and he was pulled back in the spell. As they crossed the rooms to the bay window, Lindir couldn’t help but think about that old myth. 

It went like this: a poet was destined to be married to the woman he loved. The day of their wedding, she gets bitten by a snake and dies. The poet is so sad he decides he can’t live without her. So he goes to the Underworld and pleads with the Queen. She is so moved by the sadness of his song that she agrees to let his fiancée go. There is only one condition. As long as he is still in the Underworld, he cannot look at her. So he walks back and his wife follows behind him. At the last step, he thinks he is out of the Underworld so he looks back. And looses her forever. 

Lindir just prays for Elrond not to look back. He holds his hand and slips through the bodies, ignoring the stares people give the odd couple. He looks at Elrond’s back, how the shirt creases to fit his body, how his shoulders move under the fabric. He looks and he prays Elrond doesn’t look back. 

Finally, they reach the bay window and Elrond opens it. Lindir starts to breathe, dismissing his irrational fear. 

Then Elrond looks back at him. 

Lindir feels stunned, his whole body freezes and he looks back. He feels his heart sink. He feels doomed. He tries a little smile and lowers his eyes. Their hands separate. 

He always had too much imagination anyway. 

He follows Elrond outside and closes the bay window behind him. His supervisor is lighting a cigarette. He shouldn’t find it so sexy but as he shields his lighter from the wind, his arms move under his shirt and Lindir craves to touch. 

”I don’t usually smoke,” Elrond explains ”but if Thranduil catches me doing nothing outside, he’ll drag me back inside.” He smiles at Lindir in that very gentle way that he had missed so much. Lindir feels his heart literally melting like the wax of a lit candle. 

Elrond guides them back to the patio where a small group is smoking as well. He is very careful not to send the smoke of his cigarette in Lindir’s way. Lindir just wants to hold his hand again. His own hand is itchy and he feels the ghost of Elrond’s fingers. 

”So, you’ve looked into that metaphor.” Elrond prompted him as they walked in the garden. 

Lindir nodded and immediately started gathering his thoughts. As he remembered everything, the adrenaline synonym with research flooded back to him. 

”Yes, so, the metaphor. The grave embracing the lover. It sounds…” 

Suddenly, Lindir felt shy. Was he really saying this? Couldn’t he bring up something from the books he read? Right now, it seemed a better idea than his own theory. 

But then, Elrond was smiling at him and holding out his cigarette to him. Lindir didn’t smoke. Never had. Never wanted to. But it was the cigarette Elrond had had between his lips. 

Lindir took it, doing his best to imitate Elrond in order to look ‘cool’. Their fingers brushed and Lindir felt his cheeks flush in the cold air of the night. He licked his lips absent-mindedly before bringing the cigarette to his lips and watched Elrond’s eyes follow it. He felt the eyes burn him and he basked in it. He closed his eyes as he inhaled the smoke. It felt acrid and unpleasant. He exhaled it almost immediately and opened his eyes. 

Elrond was so very close right now. He could feel his body heat and smell the faint scent of his perfume under the strong smell of cigarette. It was way more heady than anything he had at the party. Lindir met his eyes. They were still gentle but a tad darker. 

They could kiss right now. 

”It sounds sensual.” Lindir said in a whisper. 

Elrond looked surprised an instant and Lindir delighted in the very power he had over the professor. 

”The metaphor.” Lindir added. ”We can see there are a lot of vowels involved, which gives a sort of languor to the line when you hear it. I don’t think it’s one of the lines where the poet is concerned with time passing and the posterity of his poems. I mean… the concern is underlying but the line is way too sensual for it to be only about time. I think it’s about love. Carnal love.”

As he talked, Elrond looked at him as if he wanted to aspire his theory and make it part of him. It looked like the very sensation Lindir felt during Elrond’s lectures. Everything the professor said was so careful, so right, so… perfect… that Lindir wanted to remember all of it by heart. 

”It makes sense, but Maglor did write erotic poetry, so why would he try to hide a reference to sensuality?” Elrond asked. 

”I think it’s because of the identity of the lover was one that could have prevented them from being together. It was taboo. Or, at least, it’s what I think, I mean…”

”No, it’s a fair assumption.” Elrond replied, still smoking, his eyes still on Lindir’s face. 

Lindir licked his lips and watched Elrond’s eyes follow his movements. They weren’t even at the patio but they already had stopped. Lindir felt his blood pumping in his veins. He was such a mess of emotions and sensations. He didn’t know how he felt. He felt cold from the wind and hot from Elrond’s body. He felt nervous, frightened, and excited. He wanted, he craved but he dared not move. 

He felt so excruciatingly alive. 

Talking about poetry, sharing what he held dearest in his heart with a responding heart only fueled his attraction to Elrond. 

Before Elrond, he had no idea attraction could be so powerful. 

***

Elrond’s brain felt like a stroboscopic light. He couldn’t think anymore. He only wanted. He never felt so strongly with the once-in-a-while crush on a passer-by. Lindir was incredibly special. 

Elrond remembered the poem. With Lindir’s new insight, he could hear the poem like the caress of a lover. He wanted to close his eyes to feel it better but he didn’t want to miss the way Lindir licked his lips. He felt desire like a red-hot blade stabbing him. 

Lindir looked at him under his eyelashes and Elrond gave up. 

Very gently, his hand went to his student’s neck. It was burning hot and the pulse under his hand hammered. Lindir’s breath hitched and his lips parted slightly. Elrond did close his eyes at that. It was almost too much. He felt the limits of what he could endure expand and took the last step to close the distance between Lindir and him. 

Lindir’s lithe body almost immediately pressed against his. Elrond’s thumb brushed against his jaw, encouraging him. Their eyes never left the other’s. Slowly, Elrond bent his head so their lips were almost brushing. For a second, he saw Lindir tense and hesitate, his eyes widening slightly. 

It calmed him almost immediately. He was already starting to withdraw when Lindir crushed their lips together. 

His brain was like a broken vinyl, repeating ‘wantwantwantwant’ again and again. Emotions, filled with sensations, flooded over the dam of common sense. Elrond’s hands cupped the back of Lindir’s head, letting the silkiness of his hair amaze him. 

Elrond wanted to let Lindir guide their first kiss but soon it was clear that the young man had little to no experience. He was delightfully clumsy, kissing Elrond’s lips, wanting more but not knowing how to proceed. He took over. 

Elrond kissed Lindir with way more force than he had intended to. Lindir’s hands immediately flew to his arms, holding him desperately. Elrond took Lindir’s bottom lip between his and watched Lindir close his eyes and his body undulating against him. It drove him crazy. 

Elrond let Lindir’s lip go and when Lindir gasped for breath, he slid his tongue in his mouth. He was still holding his head, using his thumbs to guide his face where he could discover Lindir’s mouth until they could no longer breathe. 

When they pulled apart, Elrond held Lindir at a distance. Lindir’s hands immediately clutched his arms. The simple movement broke Elrond’s heart. Lindir was the one initiating eye contact time. The irony was not lost on the professor. 

”Lindir, listen…” Elrond started, trying to find his words when his whole body was screaming at him not to keep the young man away. 

Lindir closed his eyes as soon as he understood what Elrond was trying to say. Hurt surged in him like a river flooding. The hurt he had tried his best to repress felt just as overwhelming as the joy he had felt when they had kissed. It was almost unbearable. 

He forced himself to open his eyes, trying to wipe the hurt out of his face. He had to be brave. Then, he saw the gentleness in Elrond’s eyes, and his own desire was reflected in them. 

”Please.” He found himself whispering, not even knowing what he pleaded for. 

That simple word hay-wired Elrond’s brain. He felt Lindir’s pain as deeply as his own. Nothing seemed real anymore but this word, those lips… The outside world was a half-remembered dream and all the reasons not to go on faded. 

Suddenly, Lindir was pulled in again to Elrond’s eager lips. 

This kiss was more passionate. Their teeth clashed and Lindir relieved in the pain for a second before opening his mouth for Elrond’s tongue. His hands finally let go of his arms so he could hold on to Elrond’s shoulders. Pleasure came in, wave after wave, almost pulling him under. His body had a will of his own, which was slightly terrifying but also quite exciting. Lindir let his hips thrust against Elrond’s and delighted in the groan the professor couldn’t repress. 

Elrond’s hands on his skull prevented any movement that wasn’t guided by him. It should have felt scary, especially after the debacle that had been his first kiss. But it was Elrond. Elrond with his gentle eyes and gentler smile. Lindir knew he was safe. He felt safe and protected. It was a very ridiculous notion since he wasn’t actually in need of protection but he couldn’t help but feel even more aroused at the thought. His hands grabbed Elrond’s shirt and he did his best to mould his body against his. 

He gasped when he felt Elrond’s hips thrust against his. The kiss was broken, allowing Lindir to catch his breath. A remote part of his brain told him he should be ashamed: he was kissing his supervisor at a party after several drinks. Everybody who looked hard enough could see them. It was quickly droned when Elrond, still holding his head in place, bent his head further to whisper in his ear. 

”Do you know what you do to me?” 

His voice was rough from the kiss and his breath was hot against his skin. Lindir shivered and literally keened. He quickly hid his face in Elrond’s neck, feeling his cheeks blush in the dark. The professor chuckled and let go of his head to caress his back. His hand ended on his thigh, grabbing it and hoisting it on his hip. Lindir’s eyes widened, following without really understanding what was expected of him. He was surprised when Elrond grabbed his back and lifted him up but reflexes kicked in and he held to Elrond’s hips with his thighs, hands still grabbing his shirt. 

Lindir would really like to say he hadn’t moaned when he found himself in Elrond’s arms, bodies pressed together as if they tried to become one. Elrond was really, really strong. It made him melt, made his brain demand more, more sensations, more everything. Lindir dived in for a kiss. This one was filthy, full of untold desires and half suppressed moans. Lindir rolled his hips again and let his hands run on Elrond’s shoulders and neck, delighting in the warmth of his skin and in his groans. 

”You drive me crazy, that’s what you do.” Elrond continued, still holding Lindir up against him, his mouth exploring his jaw. It made Lindir’s breath hitch. 

”I want you so much…” The young man confessed in a whisper.

”Lindir?” A voice interrupted them. ”Lindir, are you out there?”

It was Feren. 

Elrond let go of Lindir, letting him slide slowly to the floor. The friction made Lindir groan in frustration. Elrond didn’t let go of him immediately but waited until he was sure Lindir could stand on his own. 

”Yes, I’m right here.” Lindir said, behind Elrond’s shoulder. He put his forehead on the professor’s chest and closed his eyes, trying to gather himself. 

”Oh, thanks the Valar, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I’ve even interrupted Eredhon to see if you were…”

Lindir felt Elrond looking at him, frowning. He didn’t say anything. 

”Oh, you’re with someone.” Feren realized suddenly. ”Oh, Eru, I’m so sorry, I had no idea. It’s hum…”

Lindir finally felt in control of himself well enough to step out of Elrond’s arms, albeit reluctantly. He smiled to Feren. 

”It’s alright. I’m sorry you panicked.” Lindir said, surprised by how steady his voice was. 

”I’m ready to come home now. Do you want to come or do you prefer to stay…?”

Lindir looked back at Elrond. He wanted to stay. Run right back into those arms and kiss him again and again. Elrond smiled gently at him and shook his head. 

”You should head back. We’ll talk on Monday.” 

Lindir lowered his eyes in order to mask his disappointment. He nodded, trying his best not to look like a pouting child. He took another deep breath and walked to Feren. He looked back at Elrond before walking back to the house. The professor was lighting another cigarette, his eyes fixed on him. It made Lindir blush in the dark. 

***

On the bus home, Feren looked at Lindir and shook his head disapprovingly. 

It was like looking lava head straight up to the ocean.


	6. And Every Fair From Fair Sometimes Declines,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Thank you so. much. for your reviews the last chapter, it was so nice. So, I couldn't let you guys wait any longer and here is the new chapter! (I wanted to wait until I had finished my speech for uni but well, those two have a way to get in your head and not leaving...) 
> 
> Sadly, there are no 'M rating justification' part in it but next week, I promise. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it all the same.

Flower was waiting by the door when Lindir came back, and started mewling as soon as the door was closed behind him. 

In the bus, his excitement had fallen on him like the curtain of the final act, leaving him fighting against yawns, and struggling to keep his eyes open. The young man dropped his keys and got rid of his shoes, trying not to step on Flower as she started rubbing her head on his legs. 

”Hello, little monster.” He called with a smile, before picking her up and walking to the kitchen where he fed her, petting her white fur, lost in thought as he watched her eat. 

What n the Halls of Mandos just happened? 

He had kissed Elrond. Not just a chaste kiss on the lips by moonlight. The it-could-go-further-in-a-second kiss. It seemed that Elrond had devoured him and not gotten enough. He had even lifted him up with very little difficulty!

Just thinking about it made Lindir feel faint. 

How on Arda had he let things slip so far? He should not be thinking about it with a smile on his lips. He should be disgusted by how easy he had been. He opens up to his supervisor, gets coldly rejected after a week, and jumps in his arms at the earliest opportunity. 

What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he respect himself more? 

Elrond could have the most gentle eyes in Arda, and the most fascinating arms of all Imladris, it was not a reason to treat him the way he had. 

Feren did tell him in the bus: ”He’s probably just having a midlife crisis or something. I mean, maybe he has a family and not a lot of time for himself. He sees a pretty young thing like you, all willing and eager, so he jumps on the occasion. I’m sorry to tell you that, I really don’t want to hurt you but I think it’s better if I warn you before. You probably don’t mean much to him as a lover. When you’re finished with your doctorate, there might be another, younger student and I really don’t want to see you get hurt like that.”

Feren was right. Feren was his friend, and he didn’t want him to get hurt. Once, he had kissed Feren at a party and the first thing Feren did was pushing him off, telling him he had had too much to drink. Feren was right. 

Lindir closed his eyes and tried to forget the burning sensation on his body where Elrond had touched him. For a very long time, Lindir had thought he was simply not interested in sex. There were some people like that. Then, that boy at the party had kissed him against his will, and he had understood he had just been terrified of being so intimate with someone. Then Feren came along and suddenly, the perspective to be with someone, if that someone was nice like Feren, was alright. 

Then Elrond happened with his gentle eyes, his calm voice, and the desire he obviously felt for him. The very fact that someone like Elrond might desire him made Lindir giddy. 

He seriously needed to go back to his not-interested-in-sex phase. It would be way more confortable to not feel anything for Elrond at all. 

He needed to get his mind off things. Like he had intended to do at the party. Petting Flower one last time, he went to the bathroom, put his clothes in the laundry and turned the shower on. He was really tired but he knew he could not sleep right away. The adrenaline that had surged in his veins when Elrond had kissed him, aroused him, was slowly cooling, leaving him empty. The hot water soothed him. He closed his eyes and let his hands wander. 

It felt like he had been reborn to the world of sensual pleasure. 

He wanted, oh, he wanted, Elrond to come back, to climb in the shower with him, and kiss him breathless. He wanted to slide in his bed with Elrond there to hold him through the night. The very idea of sleeping without Elrond made Lindir sigh. 

He really needed to stop. A kiss and he was already gone? That was pathetic. 

Lindir didn’t need any man. He had survived without a boyfriend so far, what’s to stop him now? He certainly didn’t need anyone who made him lonely and sad on Friday nights. He could do it.

He could. 

Turning the cold water on, he grasped his shampoo, and decided he could do without Elrond. 

He could. 

***

That was really difficult. 

Lindir had woken up way too early, thanks to his alarm clock and Flower mewling for food. He had walked to the kitchen like a zombie to feed his cat before going straight back to bed. 

At midday, he was officially too hungry to go back to sleep. He made a salad, dancing to the soft music of one of his playlists. He sat on his couch, among his books and picked up the one he had intended on reading last night. It was a biography on Maglor, one of the most mysterious poets of the Bruinen. Lindir started reading, as he did every Saturday, with Flower sleeping on his notes and a salad on the coffee table. 

Except it was all changed. 

Because Elrond had kissed him and hoisted him up in his arms. Something would have happened, had Feren not intervened. 

Elrond had promised they would talk on Monday. 

What would they talk about? Lindir wondered, taping his pen on his lips. How their relationship was impossible? Would Elrond ask him to find a new supervisor? Would he ask him not to approach him ever? 

The young man felt so tired. He hated not being sure. He hated not being sure what he was waiting for. 

He got up again to make tea in the kitchen. While waiting for the kettle, he put his forehead on the counter, screwing his eyes shut, and praying for the thoughts to go away. 

***

Elrond smelt his clothes. It still reeked of cigarette smoke. He did smoke an entire pack in one night. Plus all the other smokers that had been around him. It looked like he wouldn’t wear his dark shirt so soon. 

Which was some sort of blessing because he really couldn’t forget how Lindir had clutched it when they had kissed. 

It was pathetic. He was the adult here, why couldn’t he keep his hands off his student? Why was he so quick to loose his legendary self-control when faced with Lindir’s lovely hazel eyes and lovelier lips?

He had already been here. He had already sworn he would not let himself be carried away. He had failed. He needed to make a decision. A final decision. 

”Dad, are you alright?” Arwen asked, an uncertain smile on her lips. 

”Yes, of course I’m alright, sweetheart. I just got lost in thought. Nothing to worry about.” Elrond replied. The last thing he needed was his daughter worrying about him. He smiled and brought his clothes to the line in the garden in the back. 

Arwen followed him. ”Were you at Thranduil’s party yesterday?” She asked directly. Never one to make détours, his daughter. She got that from her mother. 

”Yes, I was. Merely by politeness. Were you?”

”I was. Wow… We really need to work on communication if we go to the same parties and still manage to miss each other.” Arwen replied, looking even more worried. 

She also looked really tired. Elrond wished he could tell her to go back to sleep but it really wasn’t the time to sleep anymore. He finished putting his clothes on the line before turning to his daughter, gently putting her hair back behind her ears. 

”That we do, sweetheart.” He agreed. ”Do you feel like grabbing coffee somewhere? We could talk.”

”Okay, but we take away. I don’t want to be at a coffee to discuss stuff. Not everyone needs to hear about our private life.“

”That’s a deal. Let me grab my wallet and we can go.”

He kissed the crown of her head before letting her go to look for his wallet and his shoes. 

***

There is a lot of faults to be found in Aragorn, Elrond thought, but his influence on Arwen was not as disastrous as he had first thought it would be. 

Before Aragorn (B.A. as Elladan and Elrohir joked) Arwen had been the nerdy daddy’s girl, staying home Friday nights and hiding her beautiful face behind her long dark hair. She had been very insecure until she met Aragorn. 

She had a crush on him the day they met. Arwen was waiting for her father to bring her home. Elrond was in his office, discussing Aragorn’s doctorate with him. When they stepped out, Arwen looked up from her book and saw Aragorn. 

Elrond was closing the door to his office so he only saw Aragorn help Arwen up from the floor were she was sat. They smiled at each other, Arwen blushing slightly, Aragorn trying to make his hair look neat. They had just fallen in love right under Elrond’s disapproving eyes. 

Almost right away, Arwen had started to try and appear more confident. She would put her hair behind her ears more often and study Galadriel to look as confident as her grandmother. The fake confidence she had worn had slowly become a real one as Aragorn manifested interest in her, in her presence, in what she had to say. He let her talk about stars not only with patience but with keen interest. Under Elrond’s amazed eyes, Arwen had become the confident young woman she was today, able to jump in the car without make up, and look like she was heading to the closest fashion show. 

There is a lot of faults to be found in Aragorn. Arwen’s smile erases them all. 

***

They sit at the garden table, sipping their coffee (although Elrond can’t really call his daughter’s « frappucino » with cream on top, ‘coffee’) and eating pastries. 

They are sharing a moment of confortable silence, looking at the familiar birds sing in the tree where they put syrup everyday. The weather is nice and the sky is blue, and Elrond lets himself feel some happiness. 

”So, had fun at the party last night?” Arwen asked. 

”Yes, it was nice. I didn’t stay long, however. Did you enjoy it?”

”Dad.” Arwen called sternly. Ah, that was her mother’s girl alright. The same no-bullshit attitude. ”We just said we needed to communicate better. You hate parties. Thranduil’s parties are wild. There is no way in Arda you enjoyed being there.” 

Elrond raised an eyebrow and sipped his own coffee, black, no milk, no sugar, the only way coffee was acceptable. He tried to find his words. Maybe Arwen could help indeed. At least, telling someone about Lindir would help him set things straight with himself. Not mentioning the whole ‘communicating with your daughter’ thing. 

“Do you remember that guide, at the ‘Poets of the Bruinen’ exhibition?” He asked. 

”Yes, I do.” Arwen replied with a big Cheshire grin on her face. ”Was he at the party?”

”He was. It’s… uhm… worse than that, actually. He’s the… student I’m supervising this year.”

”We have dinner together nearly every night and you never told me this.” Arwen said, shaking her head, barely believing what she was hearing. ”So, the guide is the… how did you put it? The ‘brilliant young man with interesting theories’?”

”He is… Well… You can laugh at your old man but… Lindir, the guide, is a very nice young man. Last week, we…exchanged emails. Very… professional emails at first, and then… more personal ones. No, I know what you’re going to say, there was nothing of that sort.” Elrond cut Arwen before she could even joke about it. How much he had dreamt about Lindir giving him a show was really not funny anymore. ”So, I’ve talked to Thranduil about it: how I was worried because I was beginning to like Lindir very much. He explained to me how unwise getting involved was. So I tried to keep away from Lindir as much as I could, with my being his supervisor. I went to the party to keep my mind off things. Of course, it didn’t work since I met him here…”

There was a pause. Elrond really didn’t want to have to confess this to his daughter. How much older could Lindir be, after all? He was younger than her boyfriend. That was a catastrophe. He rubbed his face, something that was becoming his signature move when talking about his attraction for his student. 

”What happened at the party?” Arwen prompted gently, still sipping her frappucino. 

”We kissed. I kissed him. He kissed me back and, as I tried to stop it, he just…”

”Wow, wow, how much further is this going to go? Because I can lend a sympathetic ear since you don’t have that much in your life, but I really don’t want to hear about my father’s sex life.” Arwen interrupted, laughing. 

”That’s it. We kissed, then his friend came to bring him back home. I’ve promised him we would talk on Monday. I… I don’t really know what to tell him…” 

Arwen looked down, her brow frowned. She was seriously thinking about her father’s ridiculous problem. 

”You know, Arwen, you don’t have to worry about it. You already have your own worries, sweetheart. Don’t add your father’s foolishness to the pile.” He said gently, holding her hand. 

”No, no, I’m… I kind of pushed you in all that.”

”Arwen, it’s not your fault I’m in this mess. I’m the adult here, I should have been the one making the right decisions….”

”You know,” Arwen interrupted. ”What does Lindir have to say about all that? I mean, I don’t know him, I don’t know what he’s really like… What does he think about everything?”

”I…” Elrond started. 

He found himself at a loss here. He had actually no idea what Lindir thought about what was happening. Lindir might not be even in love with him. He may only want to have sex with him once or twice and go on with his life. It would be easier to explain why that couldn’t happen. 

”It looks like you have the same communication problem with him than with me. When you guys talk on Monday, maybe you should listen to what he has to say before bursting in like: ”I’m the adult, let me make all the decisions we are going to regret.” If you are thinking in getting a relationship with him, you should consider him like an equal, and give him the time to express himself. He’s as concerned by this as you are.” 

Elrond looked at his daughter. She was wearing daisy dukes and a light grey t-shirt, pink toe nails, her hair was in a braid on her shoulder, and she was still sipping her coffee with a straw. She was looking at him, both eyebrows raised, daring him to find something more to say.

When did his daughter become as wise as her grandmother? 

”Now, we really should call the two horrors on Palantir. [Yes, Palantir is the Arda version of Skype. Yes, you can laugh in my face.] I haven’t heard of them since… forever.” Arwen concluded, patting his thigh before getting up to get the computer. 

***

Lindir was sitting on the floor in the middle of his tiny living room. He had books and notes all around him. 

He had tried to sleep but the dreams kept coming back. He really couldn’t afford to let his guard down. It was way too painful. 

It had never happened to him before. Usually, he could stay rational. 

Now, he was sitting on the floor of his tiny living room. He had slept five hours in the whole week-end. To his credit, he really had worked a lot. He nearly had finished his bibliography. He was surprised he could still understand anything he was reading. 

Nothing seemed real anymore. Flower asking for food was what kept him thinking he should eat too. He had not done the grocery shopping this week. It was wrong. He usually liked doing the grocery shopping. He did not follow all those cooking blogs for nothing after all. 

Music was playing on the speakers of his computer. Entrancing music. Bits of sound he found then and there and assembled in a result that could keep him interested when he got tired of his usual playlists. 

He should go to his classes. He had an hour before he missed the bus. He hadn’t eaten today. He really didn’t want to go. He had decided he didn’t want to talk to Elrond. It would end with him getting hurt. Why should he even get hurt? Why couldn’t he stay in his flat to write his dissertation? 

Oh, yes. He needed his supervisor’s approval. 

Lindir sighed. He could do it. He was stronger than that. He fucked this week-end up but he would get right back on tracks. He just… needed to go to his classes. He needed to go back to his life. He could do it. 

He was rational. He did not let things like that get him down. He was better than that. 

Lindir got up and grabbed some clothes before heading for the bathroom. 

***

In the bus, Feren gasped at the dark circles under his eyes. Lindir just shrugged and told him he had found interesting for his dissertation and could not let it go. Feren shook his head and they agreed to go to their usual café after their classes. They didn’t indulge in it often so it was always like a special treat after a rough day when they went. 

Lindir held on his tea for dear life all day. Sitting here without letting his mind work to exhaustion was actually way more exhausting than working without stopping. He ate an entire box of vegan cookies for lunch in order to get some energy for the end of the day. 

Elrond’s was his last class for the day. After, he could get their ‘talk’ over with and go resume his life with Feren. He sat at the back and did his best not to meet Elrond’s eyes for the lecture. 

***

Elrond had started this day with the assumption that it would be difficult but feasible. 

Right now, he wasn’t so sure. 

He hadn’t noticed Lindir until the last ten minutes of his lecture. The young man had resumed his place at the back. He was hunched over his notes, trying to disappear completely. He was wearing a deep blue sweater with black trousers. Those dark trousers had looked so good on him at the party but now, they looked almost gloomy. His hair was braided down his back, except for that tress that he always seemed to miss. It was very endearing. 

What was less endearing was Lindir’s lovely hazel eyes running away from his each time he tried to make eye contact. 

That would not be an easy talk, Elrond realized. He closed his book, sending a glare to the two impatient students on the back row who had started packing their things as soon as the hour had been up. Then, he dismissed the class. 

Lindir was among the first to go. 

Elrond tried to calm his heart. What if he had done it? What if Lindir had decided he was not worth the trouble? He did go home with that other man. They looked like friends but it could have developed over the course of the week-end. Elrond knew he had no right to feel so hurt by the possibility of Lindir finding someone else. He should even be happy. It would be nice for Lindir to find someone his age… Elrond took a deep breath and walked to his office. If Lindir just told him he had moved on, it would really spare their difficult talk, at least, he tried to confort himself with the thought. 

The professor found Lindir sitting on the ground by his office. He was more hunched than usual, and was frowning deeply as he was reading, his highlighter between his lips. When he looked up, Elrond barely had time to hide his shock upon seeing the dark circles that marred his hazel eyes. 

Oh, how he wanted to erase them with the tips of his fingers, erase all the pain, erase all the fatigue. Oh, how he wanted to gather him in his arms, hold him close, and whisper that it was going to be alright. 

Instead, he gave his best ‘proper teacher’ smile and opened the door to his office.


	7. By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are! 
> 
> Thank you so much for your lovely reviews. I know I say it at every chapter but they do mean a lot to me at every chapter. You guys are awesome! 
> 
> This chapter... well... It's a bit of a rollercoaster... But it ends well. And you have glimpses of minor pairings. I'll say no more. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it and please tell me what you think!

Elrond closed the door to his office after Lindir. He thought about locking it to avoid people walking in but decided against it. The last thing he wanted was Lindir thinking he was trapped. The young man looked tense enough as it was. 

Elrond would have been more confortable sitting behind his desk, putting some distance, some façade, between Lindir and him. Now was not the time, however. He needed Lindir confortable enough to speak his mind. So he sat on the desk, facing the young man who had sat in his usual chair. Lindir frowned a little and Elrond gave up meeting his eyes for the time being. 

”Lindir…” Elrond started with a silence. ”Today, I want us to speak very seriously about…” What was it even? About how fast I’m falling for you? About how it is really not possible to act on those feelings? ”About what happened at the party.”

”Is there anything to say?” Lindir asked, suddenly meeting his eyes in defiance. 

Elrond would not have guessed this reaction in the world. 

”Lindir, I…”

”I’m sorry to be so… abrupt…” Lindir interrupted him, his eyes running wildly all over the room, not able to focus on anything. ”But the thing is: I believed you were interested in me, and I was wrong. I was so ridiculous. I mean, why would you even…?” His voice broke and he looked down at his hands on his lap. 

The derision in Lindir’s tone made Elrond’s heart ache. He hadn’t felt that way since… 

”Lindir, listen.” Elrond said categorically. ”I… It is a very difficult thing to say for me. I think you know why. I am interested in you…” 

Lindir’s head snapped up, sending his braid over his shoulder. In his eyes was the most heady mix of wonder, hope, and admiration. Elrond felt like a cold knife was gutting him. He went on. 

”You must understand that this relationship brings a lot of problems. I am your hierarchic superior, Lindir. I have some sort of power over you. It would be very easy for me to… abuse of the power and for you to become trapped in that power. It is the last thing I want.”

Elrond bent a little to take Lindir’s hand in his. The young man kept playing with the sleeve of his sweater and it was really too distracting. Plus, he really wanted to convey his affection for him. However, as soon as he felt Lindir tense and back in his chair, he let go. 

It hurt him so very much. Lindir did not trust him enough to hold his hand. What had happened? Was Lindir hurt that much? Was it already too late to come back to the young, admirative student? 

Had he hurt Lindir that much? 

”What do you want?” Lindir asked to Elrond’s chin. 

”I want to hear your side of the story. I want to hear what you think.” Elrond replied sincerely. 

Lindir tried to hunch his shoulders even more, as if he tried very hard to disappear. He would have settled in foetal position, had he not been in his supervisor’s office. Elrond couldn’t help but think of a wounded animal. 

”I… uhm… I… It’s…” Lindir tried to find his words. ”I am attracted to you. You have a brilliant mind, and you are so… nice. I mean… I am attracted to you. But I think you are not. You may be interested in me as a… one time thing… You are really going to be disappointed, I’m not… Well, it doesn’t matter. I am attracted to you but I don’t think you are attracted to me.”

Elrond had trouble swallowing. He nodded to give himself some sort of countenance. He couldn’t even look at Lindir. He felt his heart was made of lead, ready to sink. 

”Why do you think I am not attracted to you, Lindir?” The professor asked, trying, as Arwen said, to understand the full situation. 

”Why would you hurt me so, if you were?” The young man answered and Elrond was so taken aback by the question he couldn’t answer. ”I mean, first you send those really nice emails. I thought you were genuinely interested in me, in my life. Then you act so cold when we meet, and you stop sending me messages. It is clear you only wanted to be polite. I… don’t even know why I thought otherwise. I wanted you to be interested in me so bad, I couldn’t see… At the party… Well, it was a party, I was there, so you probably thought… Why not? I thought it had something to do with me, but it’s… It’s just because I’m there… I’ve made a fool of myself. You probably pity me…”

Elrond was so stunned by how wrong that was, he took a moment to react. By then, Lindir was already up, scrambling with his bag, his hands shaking. This time, Elrond took them in his, not letting go, despite Lindir tensing. The young man did not meet his gaze, lowering his head to hide foolish tears that threatened to burn him if they escaped. 

”Lindir.” Elrond’s voice came, gentle and grounded. His name on those lips was making his heart beat faster but it did nothing to remove the anxiety that made his throat feel so constricted. 

He was a mess. He hated mess. 

”Lindir, listen…You shouldn’t presume what I think. As it so happens, you are very wrong about my intentions. It hurts me you would even think me so cruel. I do not wish to play with you. I don’t want to see you hurt. I’m attracted to you, and I don’t see you as a one-time thing at all.”

Some tresses fell in Lindir’s face, escaping the braid. Elrond wanted to put them back behind his ears so bad. 

”I hesitated. I want to be with you, but you understand that it is not an easy relationship. I told you: there is an imbalance of power that I’m afraid I’ll abuse of one day or another. You might feel forced to stay with me even when you tire of me because I’m your supervisor. We would have to communicate much better than this. Plus, if anyone knows about this, they might put your doctorate in question because your supervisor is also your lover.”

Lindir had a sharp intake of breath at that. Worried, Elrond let his hands go and gently cradled his face in his hands in order to make their eyes meet. The lovely hazel eyes looked up reluctantly, allowing Elrond to see the slightly dilated pupil. A stab of pure want shortened the professor’s breath. Lindir liked the very idea of being his. 

”I was torn between my desire for you and all the implications it meant. I hesitated and I hurt you. I’m really sorry for that.”

”It’s… It’s alright…” Lindir whispered, as if he were afraid Elrond would remove his hands if he moved too much. ”I… rushed in my conclusions. Not the feature of a good researcher, I’m afraid.” He tried to smile. 

”You concluded with the information you had, which was not much. We have to communicate. Always. We have to be sincere, otherwise we will end up hurting each other. It will not be an easy relationship by any standard.” Elrond said very seriously. 

Lindir frowned. ”What you are telling me is that… you want to be in a relationship with me?” He asked, disbelieving, looking for the answer in Elrond’s eyes, boring in his soul with lovely hazel eyes. 

”I would like to.” Elrond answered, sincerely. ”Would you like it too?”

Of course, he would understand if Lindir decided he was too hurt to give it a chance. He could want to go back to his life before, or find another partner… He was young after all, he had probably better to do than jump in a relationship with an old professor…

Lindir nodded slightly. Elrond felt it in his hands, felt it in his beautiful eyes. It was like the gentle rays of a summer afternoon sun radiating in his chest. It was like the enveloppe of lead that had compressed his heart was falling apart. He felt.. glad… giddy… Lindir had a shy smile in response, his cheeks blushing slightly. Elrond felt him relax under his hands. 

He felt like at the edge of something new and terrifying. It felt like walking to the teacher’s desk on the first day of his first class. It felt like holding the puppy you know your daughter had always wanted to adopt. The comparison made him smile. 

”It won’t be an easy relationship.” Elrond reminded Lindir. 

The young man smiled and nodded again. ”We will communicate.” He assured. His hands had begun playing with his sleeves again.

”Will you let me take you out on a date?” Elrond asked gently. 

The blush on Lindir’s cheeks deepened. He looked down at his hands, which couldn’t stay still. ”I would like that.” 

Lindir’s smile was still shy but so sincere that it made Elrond so happy. He was able to make him smile, despite all the hurting that they had done to each other. Elrond gave in and gently brushed Lindir’s rebellious hair back behind his ears. 

The young man shivered slightly at that. He licked his lips absent-mindedly and Elrond couldn’t help but stare at those lips. It was probably still too early for another kiss, but that didn’t prevent him from wanting. 

”I’ll send you an email. You should go back.” Elrond said, trying to get Lindir as far as possible before he kissed him in his office. 

The young man nodded and hesitantly looked up at him. Elrond let him look for whatever he was looking for in his eyes. 

”Oh, and what about the dissertation?” Lindir asked suddenly. 

Elrond chuckled. Lindir was immediately hypnotized by the sound. ”We are in no state to discuss it now. We’ll talk about it next week. Just read as much as you can and we’ll discuss it next time.” 

Lindir fixed his lips again, want clear on his face. Elrond wanted to taste those perfect lips so bad. He licked his lips unconsciously and watched Lindir quickly lower his eyes again. They were very close. He would only have to bend his head a little…

He kissed Lindir’s forehead instead. The student’s breath hitched a little. 

”The office is off limits.” Elrond said playfully. 

He didn’t know for how long. 

***

”I can’t believe it!” Feren exclaimed, looking at the sky, as if asking for some divine intervention. ”I’m officially done.”

”You should be happy that I’m happy.” Lindir answered with a smile as they were walking to the café. 

”Not to be the killjoy here, but: for how long? Do I need to remind you how you were right this morning? You can smile all you want, but you still have dark circles under your eyes and all.” Feren paused, trying to find his words. ”Look, I’m your friend. I don’t want to see you hurt. This is your first relationship and you have not chosen an easy one…”

”I know…” Lindir replied quietly, looking down. ”But I really want to try…”

Feren paused right in front of the door to the café. He looked deeply at Lindir, without a word. Finally he sighed. ”I swear, if he ever hurts you, he’s dead.”

Lindir let a broad smile conquer his lips. He took Feren’s hand in his and squeezed it affectionally. ”Don’t worry, you’re still number one in my heart.” He reassured. 

”I certainly hope so.” Feren answered, opening the door for them with his free hand. 

***

When Elrond went home, he found Arwen in the couch, her headphones on, typing widly on her computer for whatever course she prepared. He smiled and made two cups of tea. 

He wondered how Lindir liked his tea. He usually smelt like green tea. 

He also wondered wether he should tell his daughter about his new… lover? Well, maybe it was a little early… But communication… He rubbed his forehead to try and calm the thoughts storming in his head. He needed to think clearly. 

Taking his tea to his room, he sat in front of his computer and thought. Where could he take Lindir out? It really shouldn’t be that difficult…

Sighing again, he opened his emails and started writing. 

***

”Legolas, what are you doing?” Thranduil asked, puzzled. 

”The place is a mess.” Legolas answered, the absurd broom still in his hand. 

The party (more like like the entire week-end) had indeed left its mark on the house. There were cups on every piece of furniture and glitter on the floor. 

”It is, this is why I hired people to come over and tidy the place up tomorrow.” Thranduil said, as if it was a simple fact. Legolas smiled. 

”Don’t you find it therapeutic? Cleaning up, I mean. It chases the party from your blood, helps with the hangover.”

Thranduil frowned a moment before shaking his head and head straight to the liquor cabinet. ”Anyway, do you want to invite some people over? I’m sure we have something left…” 

”I’d rather not.” Legolas answered, gingerly following Thranduil, his broom still in hand. 

”What? Why? Legolas, is the hangover that bad? Do you need a doctor?” The professor turned around to take a closer look at the young man. 

He looked really good for someone who had been hangover Friday, and then had barely had the time to be hangover between Saturday and Sunday. He looked tired indeed but his tiny smile lit his whole face in a way that made Thranduil want to smile through his terrible headache. 

”The hangover is not bad, though, I’d rather not have another one this week. Can’t we just… watch a movie or something tonight? Just us two. We don’t need the others.”

Thranduil didn’t want to think about what he was thinking. It’s because he looks like her, he thought, trying to repress the hurt surging in his heart. 

”Ada, are you alright?” Legolas asked, worry tainting his beautiful voice. 

”Yes, sure, I’m alright. A movie it is, then. What do you want to eat? We can order Chinese if you want…”

”I’ll cook.”

”You know you don’t need to do all that. You’re not here to be a slave.” Thranduil said, taking the broom from his hands. Legolas let go of it. ”You are welcome in this house even if you don’t do all the work… I don’t even do all the work…” 

Legolas rolled his eyes at him but his smile grew so Thranduil refrained from making any comment about how childish that was. 

”I want to. What do you think about green curry pasta and cashew nuts?” 

”Do we even have that in the house?”

”We have now. Come, tell me about your day while I’m cooking. How were your students today?” 

So they compromised. Legolas didn’t do any of the cleaning but he cooked while Thranduil was complaining about the lectures and the students, sitting on the counter. 

It felt strange and familiar at the same time. It had been a long time since he had had a discussion and had not wanted to be drunk. Legolas was smiling and laughing at all his witty remarks. He was quite witty himself, Thranduil realized. He made him laugh. Legolas seemed understanding. He made compassionate noises when Thranduil sighed. 

The professor looked how he put his long blonde hair back with the crook of his elbow when his hands were busy cooking. There was a very strange feeling in his chest. One he tried his best to ignore. 

They ended up watching a terrible movie someone had left behind during one of their drinking / movie marathon. It was about monsters rising from the sea and Men trying to stop them. Legolas complained about the terrible portrayal of the Silvan Elves around a mouthful of delicious pasta. Thranduil just told him it was like that in every. single. movie he had seen that had not been directed by a Silvan Elf. 

”Let’s watch another movie after this one. A good one.” Legolas requested. 

Thranduil really shouldn’t. He should take the time to work on his lectures, now that he was sober. He should send a thousand emails. He should… He looked at Legolas who was taking their empty plates away and ordering him to put a good movie. Thranduil tried to pretend he had not looked at his backside. In his defense, it was a really good backside. 

He was proud, that was all. Proud. 

When Legolas came back with apples for dessert, Thranduil was starting the new movie. It wasn’t his favorite but was close. It was a period drama and, while the romance was a little over the top, the costumes were perfect, from a historical point of view. 

Half-way through the movie, Legolas cuddled against him, his head on Thranduil’s shoulder. The professor didn’t know what to do. No, that wasn’t true. He knew exactly what to do. 

For Eru’s sake, Legolas was nearly his son! 

”Legolas, you’re exhausted. You should go to bed.” He whispered. His hand found itself in his perfect hair before he could catch himself. 

”Hummmm, no. You’re going to escape me there.” Legolas mumbled, half-asleep. ”I can’t let you escape.”

Thranduil thought Legolas was doing a marvelous job at that. 

***

”Feren, I need help…” Lindir said seriously. 

”What, what happened, Lindir? Are you alright?”

”No… I have a date.” 

”Oh, by the Valar! Lindir, I’m trying to get ready for a party, here! You scared the shit out of me.” Feren protested. 

”I’m trying to get ready too.” Lindir said, his voice blank. ”I don’t know how to get ready for a date.” 

Feren sighed. ”Just wear your tightest pants, Lindir, I don’t have to babysit you through your relationship with your supervisor.”

Lindir hung up on him. Feren closed his eyes, feeling remorse eating at him. He had no right being such an ass to his friend. He was there to support him, after all. 

Five minutes later, there was a knock on Lindir’s door. The young man scrambled to get it, trying to button his shirt. 

”Hi, uhm, Elrond, I’m almost ready…”

”Is it Elrond already?” Feren asked with a smirk. 

”Please tell me you are wearing something underneath that robe.” Lindir said, letting his friend come in. 

”Not yet.” Feren replied, shameless, showing the bag in his hand. ”I’ll advise you but I need to get ready too.” 

Feren made a beeline to the bathroom where he disrobed and started talking while drying his hair. 

”What is the date exactly?”

”It’s a coffee date.” Lindir shouted from the kitchen where he was stacking some sweet potato chips in a bowl. 

Flower, annoyed by the noise in the bathroom and in the kitchen went to the couch and tried sleeping on Lindir’s notes. 

”Seriously? A coffee date is like… nothing… You could go in your joggings.”

Lindir stared at him after setting the bowl next to the sink. Feren took one and switched the hair dryer off. ”But you want to be sexy, I know. What about those black trousers you wore at the party?” 

”Can I wear them now even if he already saw me in them the last time? I mean, it is our first date.” 

”Yeah, judging by how he reacted the last time, I’d say: you can wear them everyday.” Feren replied, putting on his own skinny jeans. 

”Oh, you are wearing your ‘I’m going to bring someone home tonight’ underwear.” Lindir noticed. 

”Here’s to hope.” Feren replied with a smile. ”No reason you should be the only one enjoying yourself.”

Lindir went to get his black trousers, discarding the clothes he had previously chosen: ”Nothing is going to happen with Elrond. It’s the first date.”

”Yeah, and that party wasn’t even a date and you still managed to go pretty far.” Feren replied matter-of-factly. 

Lindir blushed and went to his cupboard. ”I can’t wear a black shirt, or a white one, because it would be too… formal.”

”Try your burgundy one. I like this one.” Feren advised, putting his own flannel shirt. ”Can you help me with the sleeves?”

”I do you, and you do me.” Lindir agreed, coming back to the bathroom, his shirt half-buttoned up. 

”Oh, a little fun before the date with the old professor?” Feren teased. Lindir rolled his eyes, still smiling. 

”What time is your date anyway?” Feren asked. 

”In twenty minutes.” Lindir complained. ”I’m not so sure about that but it’s way too late to cancel.”

”It’s not that you are not sure about it: it’s that you want it way too much for your own good.” Feren had always been really perceptive. ”Leave my shirt, I have to do yours real quick. Your hair isn’t even brushed. Valar, Lindir, I would have thought you would be ready seven hours before the date or something like that. Where is it? Is it far? Because, if you have to take the bus…”

”He’s coming to get me. It’s in a small coffee shop he likes.”

Feren finished dressing Lindir and started brushing his hair. 

”He’s a romantic, that old professor. Do you want to bet he’ll bring you flowers?” 

”He’s not going to bring me flowers, Feren.”

”A diamond, then? What did you get yourself here, Lindir, a sugar daddy?” Feren teased again, to relax his friend. 

”Feren…” Lindir hesitated. ”What is the etiquette for the first date? I mean… Am I expected to kiss him? Before, after, before and after?”

Feren put his friend’s hair in a loose braid which will allow some hair to escape his artwork, the perfect pretext for Elrond to put them back with a tender, loving hand. It wouldn’t bother Lindir during their date but it wouldn’t look to severe, or whatever. 

”There is no etiquette for dates, Lindir. Well, there is for people without chemistry or imagination. You go with the flow, Lindir. It’s not about what’s right or what’s wrong. it’s about what you want to do. If you want to kiss him on the doorstep before he can even say ‘hello’, go for it. I’m pretty sure he won’t be bothered.” 

They laughed a little. Lindir then proceeded to help Feren dress for his party, brushing his hair, braiding tiny tresses while his friend was bitching about the other guests and eating chips. 

Finally they were ready, dumbly sitting in the bathroom, talking. 

And then, Lindir’s phone rang. 

Feren had never seen his friend ran so fast. It woke Flower up and she looked at Lindir angrily. 

”Allo?” Lindir said, a little breathless, a big smile on his face. ”Yes. Yes, I’m ready. I’ll be down in a minute.”

He turned to Feren who had just picked Flower up from her improvised bed. Feren was the only human being who had the right to touch her, apart from Lindir of course. 

The young man turned to his friend with so much joy and excitement on his face that Feren was surprised. He had never seen his friend so happy. He pretended it didn’t hurt. 

”Time to go for the fun times.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows. 

”Oh, Eru, I’m soo nervous!” 

”You’ll be alright. Do you have your phone? Keys? Wallet?”

Lindir held them up for Feren to see. ”I’ll feed Flower and close the door behind you. Be safe, whatever happens.”

As Lindir went to the door, he looked back at his friend who was using Flower’s paw to wave at him. ”Thanks Fer’, you’re a great friend.”

”Yeah, I know, off with you, now. Sugar daddy is waiting.”

Lindir rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him. Feren waited five seconds before rushing to the window, opening it and watching the parking lot, Flower still in his arms. 

”Ten bucks his boyfriend has bought him something.” He said to Flower who just put her paw on his cheek. 

Two minutes later, Lindir exits the building and walks gingerly to Elrond, waiting near his car. Feren can see from here that Lindir is nervously playing with his hair. As he walks to Elrond, the professor apparently smiles at him and gives him something Feren can’t see from here. But, by the way Lindir gets more nervous and takes the thing, he can see it’s a present. Feren laughs before shouting: ”Lindir, you owe me ten bucks!” 

Both of them look up but Feren is waving them goodbye and closing the window on them. 

Back in the flat, Feren laughs again, cradling Flower in his arms: ”We are such bad, bad persons, you and I.” He tells the cat before feeding her.


	8. But thy eternal shall not fade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Once again, thanks for all your reviews! Every single one has been an encouragement for me to finish that chapter. You guys are so sweet! 
> 
> This chapter is a bit of a 'M-rating-justification' so I hope you'll like it. Please let me know!

”Please, don’t mind him.” Lindir says, cringing a little. In his hands, he holds the book Elrond just lent him. It’s a biographical essay about Maglor. It is bound to be so interesting that Lindir would want to start reading right now if he weren’t on a date. 

The thought still makes him nervous. Everything has a ritual quality. Even the pregnant grey skies seem to bear heavy on him. Lindir tries to relax, but he is afraid of doing something wrong. His thoughts race in his head, bouncing on the walls to be examined over and over again, like a broken CD, like a mantra. 

He almost wishes he wasn’t there. He just wants to kiss Elrond, to skip the formalities, to listen to music in his flat while drinking tea. He doesn’t say any of this and let Elrond drive them to the café. 

Elrond is dressed nice. He has forgone his severe professor suits in order to wear a deep blue shirt with beige trousers. It is strange to see him like this, Lindir thinks. It hits him that he is not going to have a relationship with Professor Foncombe but with Elrond. He doesn’t know a lot about Elrond. 

They drive in silence and Lindir can’t help but hating himself because he can’t think of anything clever and funny to say. He looks out the window. The leaves are beginning to fall, spotting the sidewalks with red and orange. What if it was a mistake? What if Elrond knows this and decides he is no longer interested in a student who doesn’t have much to say? What if the date is catastrophic and Elrond doesn’t say anything about that because he is too nice? Because he pities Lindir? 

Elrond pulls up in the parking next to the park. Lindir knows this place: it is nice to walk there in the summer. There are always a lot of people so it’s better to walk with headphones, but as the sky is threatening, the visitors are rare. The café welcomes more people but it is a number Lindir thinks he can manage. 

”How would feel about taking a walk before we go inside?” Elrond asks. 

Lindir wants to bless him. He nods. 

***

As they are walking side by side down the alley of pine trees, Elrond does his best to make Lindir feel comfortable. He starts by talking: 

”So, you have some vacation soon (it’s in more than a month but nevermind), what do you plan to do?” The question seems extremely plain to him but he has to start somewhere.

Lindir still plays with his hair. This time, he seems to have included all of it in his braid. Elrond wants to take that one tress out.

”I’ve been thinking on going on a trek south of the Bruinen. It says it’s quite steep at times. With rocks and all… But I want to train to do the Imladris trek this summer.”

”The Imladris trek? I’ve tried that once… We weren’t prepared at all.” Elrond jokes. That trip had been quite a disaster but they had laughed so much about it, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. 

”We?” Lindir asks before he can think. ”Who were your trek mates?”

Elrond falls quiet. Lindir turns his head to appear to be looking at a tree. Internally he is slapping himself hard. It was such an indiscreet question. Why would he even ask that? 

”It was my wife. My wife and I. We had just moved in Imladris so we decided we would attempt it.” Elrond’s voice is deeper. He looks nostalgic. 

His wife. 

Lindir has to pause in order to think for a moment. He hadn’t seen a wedding ring on his professor’s finger. Had he lied to him? Was he married? Was he sad because Lindir had forced a confession out of him? Lindir felt the panic rise in his chest.

”Lindir,” Elrond’s gentle and grounding voice came to his ears. ”Dont make wild scenarii. Communication. Ask me.”

”You have a wife.” Lindir doesn’t mean to sound so accusing, but he does. 

”I had a wife.” Elrond can’t look at him in the eyes. Suddenly, Lindir misses his gentle dark eyes. ”I loved her very much. She was the mother of my three children. She died.”

It is strange, summing up his story like that. 

Lindir, on the other hand, was still trying to arrange his chaotic thoughts. He would never have guessed. How could he even begin to understand the pain Elrond had been through? Was still being through? Yet, he was so gentle and nice, it seemed life had never made him bitter. He began playing nervously with his hair before he could prevent himself. How could he connect with Elrond when such a great gap had suddenly appeared between them? 

Suddenly, the age difference Lindir had thought they could easily overcome became an overwhelming obstacle. He could see how weary Elrond had become as he avoided his eyes in order to compose himself anew. 

”What a mess of a first date.” Lindir said bitterly, trying to put on a smile. 

”For two very organized persons, we end up messing a lot of things up.” Elrond replied. 

Lindir was thinking about a good way of telling Elrond they should stop here. Each time, it got more and more complicated. He honestly had a hard time finding a way out of this mess. He wanted to be with Elrond, he wanted it so much, but as time passed, everything seemed more and more difficult. Were all relationships that hard? Feren rarely had relationships and he never really talked about them. Lindir was now facing the terrible fact that he had absolutely no idea how to make a relationship work. He had always thought it would involve spending time together, reading, watching movies, listening to music, talking and, at one point, having sex. His friendship with Feren had been so sudden and effortless, he had never thought one should work hard to be with someone you liked. 

”I want you to know that you can always walk out this relationship, if you so desire.” Elrond added. He didn’t look like the literature professor anymore. Just like someone very tired, worn down to loneliness. ”I don’t want you to feel trapped. You didn’t know what you were going into so I understand that…”

”Can I kiss you?” Lindir asked suddenly. 

Elrond looked dumbfounded for a moment, a sight Lindir knew to be rare. He took a step forward, closer to Elrond, looking for the closeness they had shared at the party. Elrond quickly looked around. There were some people but they were quite far. Too far to even make out who they were. It was safe…

Elrond cupped Lindir’s face in his hands, delighting in the way his breath hitched and his eyes widened. He bent his head a little and kissed Lindir gently. 

It hadn’t been that long, honestly, but Elrond couldn’t help but feel like a great weigh had been taken from his shoulders. like going home after a very long day. 

Was it too soon to feel like this? 

Lindir nearly melted under his hands, pressing himself closer, closing his eyes and putting his arms around his waist. The kiss was chaste. Elrond broke it before he could feel the want take over what was left of his common sense. Lindir stood on the tip of his toes to try and bring Elrond’s lips back on his back was stopped: 

”We shouldn’t abuse of our chance. The last thing we need is get charged for public indecency.” Elrond joked. 

His student was clearly disappointed and Elrond tried not to dwell too long on that. It would bring forward all the desires he wanted to fulfill. It would be bad. 

”Now, I think I promised you a coffee date. How about that?” He asked with a kiss on Lindir’s forehead. 

***

This time, Elrond was the one to speak more about his life. 

They sat in the café, near the far wall, where the patrons were rare. They were face to face, both in armchairs with their steaming mugs in front of them. Elrond had chosen a coffee with hazelnut, like a private joke, reminding him of Lindir’s eyes. He regretted they were not sitting side by side, because he wanted nothing more but to touch his lovely student. Nothing too invasive or sexual, of course, but he wanted to hold his hand, push his hair back, taking advantage of the movement to touch his neck and ear in a ghost caress. 

He told him about his children. Elladan and Elrohir, whom everyone always confused. Younger, they had hated it and would often choose their clothes or activities as opposite as possible. Then, they stopped caring, to Elrond’s joy, and just lived their lives as they wanted. They even got matching tattoos. Stars, on their chest. Arwen got one as well, later on: another star, brighter than her brothers’ but on her chest as well. Lindir asked him where was his tattoo and Elrond only replied with a wink. Anyway, Elladan and Elrohir were both in college, now, in the North, very far from home. Arwen was still living with him, in their too-big house. Well, half living with him. The other half, she spent at Aragorn’s, her boyfriend. Elrond told him about Aragorn as well: how he was supervising him before the young man flew out with his daughter. 

Lindir laughed a little at that. He couldn’t help but notice how Elrond’s children were a very important part of his life. He couldn’t say it didn’t scare him a little but he appreciated it nonetheless. Lindir wanted to know more about Elrond himself so, in the confort of the café, he brought himself to ask him. What was his favourite movie? What had been his favourite trek? What did he like to eat? Every answer was fascinating and mostly, unexpected. Behind the severe professor was a man who enjoyed simple things like wine with ice cream (but only vanilla ice cream) and reading historical novels (that apparently, Thranduil - Professor Oropherion - would scoff at whenever he got the chance)

Elrond soon found out he greatly enjoyed talking with Lindir. It had been such a long time since he had met someone new, someone interested in discovering him, someone he knew would care about the information he was willing to give, and not simply politely listening at whatever social function he was attending to. 

The intimacy had a bittersweet taste. 

***

It was raining when they left the café. It had been raining for three good hours. They didn’t run back to the car but walked slowly, as if trying to make the moment last, as the afternoon was ending. 

Only the prospect of seeing Flower again cheered Lindir up from the long lonely evening waiting for him. 

They sat in the car for a moment, chuckling at their wet hair and wet clothes. Elrond switched the heating on and watched Lindir tuck some wet tresses of hair behind his ears. Sensing he was being observed, the young man looked up at Elrond. 

It was amazing how his eyes were still so lovely and hazel and admirative. Elrond had showed him his human side and Lindir was still in awe with him. 

This kiss was more passionate. They reached for each other and their teeth clashed a little before they found an angle that could work. Lindir’s hands had found his shoulders but took the liberty of wandering on his neck and in his hair. Elrond wanted to bask in the feeling but he kept kissing him, his tongue asking for entrance. It was like the party all over but this time, Elrond felt slightly less guilty: he was sure that was what Lindir wanted. His hands found their way on Lindir’s jaw, cupping his face again, letting his fingers caress his cheekbones to finally brush against his ears. Lindir gasped in his mouth at that and Elrond had to close his eyes against the surging flood of desire.

He broke the kiss so they could catch their breath but neither of them let go. Elrond wanted to guide Lindir on his lap to feel him closer and find a more confortable position to kiss. Right now, he was content with watching Lindir’s cheeks grow the most lovely shade of red. His lips were redder too, bruised by their kiss. 

Elrond brought Lindir back to him, welcoming him with his lips once more, unable to fight the attraction. This time, it was more a series of kisses, their tongues meeting quickly before pulling back, breathing for a second before kissing again, as if they were physically unable to be separated. 

Then Elrond tried to bite Lindir’s lower lip slightly, more pressure than pain, before soothing it with his tongue. 

Lindir moaned. 

Elrond felt it like lightning under his skin, setting him alight and pooling south. 

At this point, letting go of Lindir at the moment he wanted him the most was almost like an acquired reflex, one he didn’t like, but was necessary. His lover made a disappointed noise and slowly let go. He looked a little overwhelmed as he opened his eyes. His cheeks were red and his hair still bore the marks left by Elrond’s fingers. His chest rose and fell with his ragged breath. He was the very picture of loveliness. 

”Is the car off limits too, then?” He asked. 

”I’m afraid so. I should drive you back. It’s starting to be late.” 

That was the right thing to do. Lindir deserved better than a car. He deserved… everything, actually. Elrond started the car and tried to clear his thoughts enough to drive back safely. 

As he drove, he felt the young man’s eyes on him. All over him. He pretended it didn’t ignite him. Just as he had tried to know more about him in the café with his questions, Lindir was trying to know more about his body now. It exhilarated him. He hardly felt deserving of the attentions of such a smart and beautiful young man. 

They parked all too soon for Elrond’s taste. Lindir looked at his hands for a while. Elrond could literally hear him thinking. 

”So… You said we had to communicate, right?” Lindir asked. 

”I said that indeed.” Elrond replied, amused at the precautions Lindir took. 

”Is it bad if I say I don’t want you to leave yet? I mean, I don’t want to sound desperate and we’ve already kissed and I read you are not supposed to do that on the first date, but then Feren did say it didn’t matter, but…”

Elrond couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Lindir looked more like he was trying to expose his dissertation to a malevolent jury than asking for another kiss. 

”Lindir, we have to establish trust. Just tell me what you want.” Elrond said gently.

That sentence set Lindir’s cheeks aflame in a delicious manner. He would have to look into that. 

”Would you like to… come with me? I can make some tea.”

Elrond thought about it. On the one hand, going to Lindir’s flat didn’t necessarily mean sex but it did mean it would be harder to stop once they started kissing. He always thought he was a patient person but the frustration of pushing a willing Lindir away had began to make itself felt. 

On the other hand, he knew Arwen was out with Aragorn again, so he would have the house to himself for the whole night. It was going to be a long night. 

”I’d love some tea.” He answered, smiling. 

***

As soon as Lindir opens the door a cloud of white fur jumps from the sofa and runs to the door. The cloud is an angora cat with accusing eyes. Lindir winces slightly, a guilty expression on his face. 

”I’m so sorry, Flower. I’m here now. Did Feren feed you? I know he did.”

He bends to pick up the cat. Elrond is amazed by the innocence of the gesture. Lindir obviously hadn’t thought that he was standing just behind and had been offered a view he felt quite guilty for enjoying so much. Those trousers were indeed a blessing. 

The cat quickly settled in his arms, her paws on his shoulders, her eyes fixing Elrond in a stare. So, this was Lindir’s companion. 

”Please, come in.” Lindir invites Elrond in, walking to the kitchen, the cat still in his arms. ”How do you like your tea?”

Elrond looked around the tiny flat before answering: ”Make it as you like it. I’m curious.” 

Lindir smiled and nodded. He switched the kettle on with one hand, the other still holding the cat. Elrond admired his dexterity as he fished out some tea in the cupboard single-handedly. 

As the kettle was boiling, the professor looked around him. He was in the living-room which, apparently, served as a dining room as well. Next to the window, a couch was covered in open books and papers covered in highlighters and Lindir’s perfect handwriting. In front of the couch, a small coffee table was covered in the same strangely organized clutter, with a computer sitting in the middle of it. 

Everything was color coordinated: white with hints of foliage green and some deep brown. It looked like everything could be set in a garden and still be in tone. Elrond liked that. It was soothing. He noticed an encense burner on one of the shelves. Lindir’s bookshelves were, of course, nothing like his own, but were still well furnished. Most of it were second-hand books, which contrasted with the immaculate furniture in a most delightful way. It was totally like something Lindir would live in. 

”You can push the mess on the couch and put in on the table if you want.” Lindir called from the kitchen where the kettle was ready. 

As Elrond did just that, being careful not to create more mess, reading the notes on various pages, he heard Lindir talk to the cat Flower as he fed her. Apparently, the young man didn’t know better than to resist a cat asking for food. It was incredibly sweet. 

Elrond was drawn to Lindir’s vinyl player. He had had one when he was younger but had upgraded to a record player as soon as possible. He looked at the amazing collection Lindir possessed and found that, while he knew some of the bands, there were a lot that he had never heard of. Apparently, Lindir was obsessed with Haradrim First Age music. 

”You can put one on if you want to.” Lindir said, on the threshold, holding two steaming cups of tea. 

”It has been a while since I’ve even put a vinyl on.” Elrond said with a smile. 

Soon, the soothing music notes lulled them as they sat on the couch, sipping their tea. 

”I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything like this.” Elrond said, curiously. 

Lindir blushed and looked at his hands again. ”It’s alright if you don’t like it, it’s…”

”Lindir.” Elrond called him gently. ”Do not assume you know what I’m thinking. You know where it gets us. It is good. It a very good green tea that I have never tasted and I was wondering where you found it.” 

Embarrassed at his own awkwardness, Lindir didn’t dare look up, talking to his hands instead: ”I… just found it at the vegan store near the uni. It’s actually green tea that grows near the Bruinen. I think you can smell it…”

Elrond tried and closed his eyes. It is true it smelt like that day, near the Bruinen. The fateful day he saw Lindir for the first time, a blushing young guide playing nervously with his badge and asking him if he liked the exhibition. He smiled and opened his eyes to find Lindir staring at him. 

”It makes me think of the first day we met.” Elrond confessed with a smile. 

”Well… It must smell like a pathetic embarrassment then.” He replied, chuckling. 

”It smells lovely.” 

Elrond carefully set his cup on a miraculously uncovered spot of the coffee table and gently slid towards Lindir who looked puzzled. Gently, he cupped Lindir’s face with one hand and buried his face on the other side of his neck, breathing him deeply. He was devious enough to let his lips brush slightly on his ear, making Lindir gasp. 

He still had that honey dew smell but the cold wind was now replaced by the heavy scent of rain. He loved it. Lindir put some distance between them and Elrond immediately let go, afraid he had made a mistake. Lindir was not the only one being nervous about this date. However, the young man only settled his cup on the floor by the couch before pressing himself against Elrond, as best as he could with their position on the couch. 

Elrond welcomed him eagerly in his arms. This time, Lindir was the one pressing his lips on Elrond’s. He let him guide the kiss but, after a while, he knew that poor Lindir had little experience in these matters and resolved to help him a little. 

Gently, he asked for entry and slid his tongue in the young man’s mouth. It was electrifying. He wanted to go deeper and deeper until he found out exactly what his lover was made of. Lindir’s tongue shyly met his and it took a while to coax him into play. The pure physicality of it amazed him. His brain had gone blank at the feel of Lindir’s trim waist in his arms and of his eyelashes against his cheekbones. 

It had been so long since this had happened to him. 

He also realized with amazement that it was their first kiss indoors. The first kiss they didn’t have to tone down or cut off abruptly because someone might see them. It felt amazing. 

In an effort to guide Lindir’s head into a better angle, Elrond slid his hands his hair, only to find himself irritated at the braid. Blindly, he undid it while their knees knocked in order to try and find a position where they could be closer. Once undone, Lindir’s hair released their powerful rain and bergamot smell. Elrond’s hands caressed it, before cupping his skull through it and guiding Lindir into that angle that made it possible for him to explore more of his mouth. 

It felt so right. Elrond felt like it was totally normal to be here, with a lovely student letting himself be kissed by his old supervisor. He felt like he belonged on this couch, in this awkward position, listening to the rain falling again against the windows. It felt so right. 

Lindir broke the kiss first, out of breath, his hazel eyes almost black with the force of his desire. His red lips, red cheeks and tangled hair made it impossible for Elrond to resist. He didn’t want to think about his old principles, his old caution. He just wanted to chase the feeling of belonging, of desire tangled with a hint of happiness. 

Lindir gasped again when Elrond took his hips to guide him. He found himself straddling the professor, sitting in his lap, arms around his neck. It was not so different than the party and the memory made his blush even more. 

He was slightly panicked, however. The feeling of arousal was so powerful, like something living in his lower stomach, making him react in a terrifying manner. He had rarely been so aroused. Now, he could feel Elrond’s breath on his already burning face and had to force himself to look into his lover’s eyes. He loved how gentle they were, how loving, but he was also afraid of their perceptiveness. The fact that he was so aroused by a single kiss was shameful and he felt vulnerable under his stare. 

In order to escape those perfect dark eyes, Lindir took the initiative of kissing Elrond again. He started small, kissing his forehead, his eyelids, even the tip of his nose. He didn’t know if what he was doing was right or not. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Arousal and anxiety were pooling in his stomach and he did his best to ignore both. 

When he started kissing Elrond full on the lips, however, the sigh of his lover and his hands gripping his hips reassured him. He let his desire guide him as he kissed him again and again, daring biting his lower lip slightly. Elrond growled against him and Lindir had to close his eyes for a minute as he felt electrified by the sound. 

Elrond’s hands left his hips and Lindir tried not to be too disappointed at the loss. Soon, he felt the hands slowly follow his spine up in a long caress. It made him shiver. When Elrond’s hands were between his shoulders, he gently guided him closer until their chests touched. Lindir moaned and was immediately ashamed at the sound, hiding his face in Elrond’s neck. The professor laughed and held his face in his hands again, so their eyes could meet. 

”I want you so much, Lindir.” Lindir’s eyelashes fluttered. Elrond’s voice had turned gravelly. It was perfect. ”Do you want me too?”

”Yes. Yes, I want you.” Lindir went for another lazy kiss. 

He yelped as Elrond’s hands found his backside. No one has ever touched him there before. Well, no one apart from the occasional slap on the backside Feren would give him when he was being too tense. It was nothing like Elrond’s touch. He bucked his hips forward. 

Oh. 

Elrond was just as aroused as he was. 

Lindir pretended the thought wasn’t as heady as it was. He did this. He made Professor Foncombe hard. He felt a smile tug at his lips. He even dared letting go of Elrond’s neck in order to run his hands on his arms, the arms he had watched once too often in class, the arms he had dreamed of touching… Valar, Elrond was fit. 

”We can’t have sex.” Elrond said, even as his hands were gently guiding his hips against his, pressing them together even more. 

”What?” Lindir looked dumbfounded. ”I thought you wanted…”

”Oh, Lindir, I want to, believe me… But I don’t have anything regarding to protection… I don’t suppose you have anything either?”

Lindir groaned and shook his head no. 

”Plus, it is still very early in our relationship. We shouldn’t rush things, alright?”

The young man nodded, not sure he had control over his own voice in order to speak right now. It felt strange and amazing, the discovery of a thousand new sensations, some he never knew existed with such intensity. It felt like his body was not so much his than Elrond’s. 

”I need to ask you… Have you ever done this before?” The professor asked him very seriously. It nearly reminded him of the time he had asked his class wether they had already read the book he was talking about. He bit his lips in order not to smile. 

He shook his head no. He hoped it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker. He knew he was quite old to be a virgin and maybe that will make Elrond realize how disappointing sex with him would be and he was going to leave, saying it was not such a good idea anymore. 

Lindir didn’t want to be alone. 

Elrond gently caressed his hair, swallowing, conscious of Lindir’s eyes on his throat as he did so. 

”The… The kiss at the party. Was it your first?” Elrond asked again. 

”N…No… Uhm… I have been kissed before. Twice. Well…” He didn’t know wether he should tell Elrond about the fiasco of his first kiss. It would dampen things considerably. 

Then, he remembered. Communication. It was important. He didn’t want to lie to Elrond. 

”The first time… It… It didn’t go well… I was not…” Finding the words was harder than he had expected. He couldn’t look Elrond in the eyes. ”I didn’t want to kiss him. But he did. After, he apologized. He was really sorry, but… It took me a while to… Well, want to kiss someone else, I guess. Then, there was Feren. I mean, we’re not. We were never… We just met at that party and we kissed. It was just that. It meant nothing, really. We’re friends now. But, uhm… At the party, it was… It was something else. Entirely.” 

”Lindir, please, look at me.” Elrond asked and, when he did, Lindir saw the deep concern in his eyes and something in his chest swelled with emotion so powerful it surprised him. ”I want you to promise something for me, alright?” Lindir nodded. ”If there is anything… Anything, no matter how small, I do that is bothering you for whatever reason, you must tell me. Do you hear me?”

”Yes.” Lindir answered, surprised by how small his voice was. ”I promise.”

”Good.” Elrond kissed his forehead with a smile. 

Lindir found that he was no longer aroused and, probing, Elrond wasn’t either. He should have been disappointed, but he really wasn’t. He had shared something with Elrond and that just as good as feeling his hands on him. 

The tea had grown cold so they agreed on ordering sushis (for which Elrond insisted on paying, even if he had already paid for their coffee) and watching old black and white movies on the couch, wrapped in blankets. 

Flower emerged from the bed and followed the blankets to the couch. There, she walked over Elrond with majesty before curling in Lindir’s lap, resuming her nap and occasionally asking for food. Lindir did tell her to be nice to Elrond but he doubted his smile had really conveyed his message. 

Later in the evening, Lindir found himself cuddled against Elrond and he knew exactly what that warm feeling in his chest was. 

He was already in love with Elrond.


	9. Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> First of all: thank you so much for all your reviews. I can't say it enough but those are really the thing that pushes me to get writing. 
> 
> I hope you won't be disappointed by this chapter because it doesn't features a lot of our two favourite nerds. I've just realized I didn't have a lot of chapters left and a lot of characters to develop. So, here we go: a chapter for all those side-characters we love so much! The chapter does have some Elrond and Lindir, tho and next chapter will be entirely for them. 
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, I'll do my best but the coming week promises to be all kinds of hell, so it might get a little late. I'll do my best to bring it to you next Sunday but if I fail, please, don't be too disappointed? This chapter is extra-long to make it up to you! 
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

Feren woke with splitting headache and a terrible feeling of loneliness. He hated how used he was to the two sensations. He opened his eyes and discovered he had fallen asleep on a couch, covered with glitter and confetti. Someone had fallen asleep on top of him but they blessedly were still both dressed. 

The young man slid under the weigh of the body on top of him and landed on the floor before standing up and taking in the chaos of the house after a Thranduil party. The poor host hadn’t known what had been coming for him. He walked to the kitchen, carefully avoiding plastic cups and sleeping bodies. He drank directly from the sink, closing his eyes against the noise but welcoming the cold water on his heated skin. 

Through the small window of the kitchen, he saw it was daylight (Mandos, it had already been daylight when he had fallen asleep) but the sun was thankfully covered by a heavy curtain of grey clouds. He wouldn’t burn his eyes out outside. That was nice. 

Feren took out his phone to see if anyone had drew anything stupid on his face. He had been among the last to fall asleep, watching the sunrise, emptying the very last Tequilla bottle and smoking cigarettes with Thranduil. He had no idea his supervisor was so… passionate about Eryn Lasgalen. He always seemed so bored by his lectures, by everything that wasn’t a party, really. Yet, when they had found each other on the dancefloor, some of the last dancers, Thranduil had started ranting and they ended up slow dancing so they could discuss Feren’s dissertation. Thranduil had memorized every single mail Feren had sent him. They had ended up outside to discuss some more, sitting on the grass. Then, Bard had stepped out, totally drunk, wondering in a panicking voice where the children were. Thranduil had laughed and had taken Bard out somewhere. 

Feren had been sitting in the grass, cold, lonely, finishing the last of the cigarettes. Then, he had fallen on the first couch he had found, hugging a complete stranger for bodily warmth. 

And now he was contemplating how it was such a typical Saturday for him. He rubbed his face a little, closing his eyes. Time to go home, take a shower, sleep some more and then work, work, work. Thranduil had given him a lot of ideas. He needed to work on that. 

Maybe he could even see Lindir. 

Scratch that. Lindir was probably with his boyfriend. He envied how his life didn’t spiral out of control every week-end. 

Not the time to think about Lindir. 

Time to think where he was and how he could get home. 

Feren pushed his hair out of his face and walked around until he finally found the front door. 

The sun was still quite bright. Feren closed his eyes and groaned. 

He saw a familiar figure on the street just in front of the house. Galion was trying to find the keys to his car in the pockets of his incredibly tight jeans. 

”Hey.” Feren said laconically, walking to his friend. 

”Hey.” Galion answered, turning to him. He had impressive dark circles under his eyes and his hair was quite a mess. 

”Can I borrow a lift home? I don’t know where we are.”

”Sure. We’ll find your place. Just let me find my keys.”

”Didn’t you leave them in the bowl at the front door. The… You know, the… ‘Don’t drink and drive’ bowl?”

”Oh, yes, that… Yes, probably. You’re right. Wait here, I’ll get them.” 

Feren only nodded and sat on the sidewalk, next to the car. It was quite chilly. It would rain today. The young man threw his head back and closed his eyes, giving in to the unearthly fatigue he felt. It was more than just one sleepless night. His very heart felt tired. 

”I got them.” Galion startled him a minute later. ”Are you alright?”

No. No, he really wasn’t. 

”Yeah, let’s go. Are you sure you’re sober enough?”

”I spent half the party at the ER with that one guy who drank too much. Talk about sober.” Galion answered. He looked very upset. Feren thought it was endearing. Galion was the oldest of his friends. He was doing a PhD on the Battle of Dagorlad and working at the teachers’ café at the same time. He wasn’t very noticeable but that was a shame because Feren never met anyone so sincerely nice. He just took care of everybody, even when he didn’t know them. 

”Is the guy alright now?” Feren asked. 

”Yes, his mother picked him up. No parties for a week at least.”

Feren sat on the passenger seat and watched Galion start the car. He looked at least as tired as Feren felt. It shouldn’t be, but it was nice. Feren felt slightly less lonely. 

Galion drove until they found out they were on the other side of town. Feren laughed and Galion groaned. 

”Hey, do you have somewhere to be today?” Feren suddenly asked. 

”No, why?” 

”Do you want to stop at my place? You can use the shower. We can order some food. Chill.” 

”Feren, I sincerely hope you aren’t hitting on me right now.”

”I’m not, I swear! I just…” The young man wasn’t even sure what he was doing. Clinging to what seemed like the very last real person on Arda. 

”Let’s stay at mine.” Galion decided. ”There is a supermarket not far from it so we can get some food.”

Feren nodded with a bright smile. Galion only looked at him before looking back at the road. 

***

”So, what do you want to eat?” Galion asked in the cold alleys of the supermarket. 

Here they were, looking like a mess in the middle of the families doing their Saturday morning grocery shopping. Some strict matrones were looking at them as if their bad habits were contagious and they had to protect their children at all costs. 

There was this one woman who was so scornful Feren couldn’t help but wink at her teenage son who just blushed very sweetly and looked down. Galion had dragged him away, laughing. 

It was nice to make Galion laugh. It made his face look slightly less tired. 

”Let’s make burgers. I’m starving. Burgers and pizza.”

”You ate pizza last night.” Galion disapproved. 

”I didn’t eat the pizza last night. Gone before I could even see it. But you’re right. Let’s go for some ice cream and chocolate cake instead.”

”You are way too thin to be eating all this junk food.” Galion replied, shaking his head. 

Feren couldn’t remember why he was clutching to Galion the way he was but he vaguely remembered some bullshit excuse about being cold. Galion wasn’t pushing him away, even throwing his arm around his shoulders, so Feren didn’t take his arms from Galion’s waist as they walked down the aisles. 

”Okay, let’s just take some nuggets and fries. It should be enough for you, stick-thin man.” 

”And burgers. Please?” Feren asked. 

”Fine. Burgers. But we don’t buy the already made ones. I’ll find some buns and we’ll make them.”

Galion paid for the food and dragged Feren out to the parking lot. As soon as they reached the car, Feren pulled Galion in an impromptu hug to thank him. He didn’t know why he thanked him but he did and it felt nice when Galion didn’t pull away. 

***

Galion’s flat was nice. It was all very ordered, except for the books and notes in the bed. That bed was utterly chaotic. Was Galion really sleeping in there? 

Feren looked around while Galion was preparing the food. 

”How many shampoos do you even have?” He shouted from the bathroom. 

”Some of them are called conditioners.” Galion retorted from the kitchen. ”Just get in the shower, I’ll leave clothes for you on the bed.” 

”Thanks! You’re a sweetheart!” Feren shouted, half-laughing. 

Galion only shook his head and turned the oven on. 

Feren groaned when he felt hot water relax his aching muscles. The headache was slightly better than it had been in the supermarket. All the colors in Galion’s flat were calm and welcoming. There was a lot of light blues and deep greens. Everything looked used and loved. It was nice. 

Feren smelt some of the bottles. He chose the bamboo shower gel and the green tea shampoo because it smelt like Galion and Galion was a soothing presence. 

Once clothed and his hair mostly dry, he went back to the kitchen, revived and famished. There, he found Galion, reading next to the oven, waiting for their little feast to cook. 

He was wearing glasses. It contrasted so much with his mussed hair, the glitter stuck to his skin and his party clothes, but it went so well with Galion. Feren found it endearing. He smiled, trying to figure out what that feeling in his chest was about. It was like a mental hot shower. It felt pleasing, relaxing… 

Galion looked up. He looked surprised at the sight of Feren in his too big clothes and drying hair. The young man swallowed and Feren found himself hypnotized by the movement of his throat. They looked at each other. 

”I’m going to shower too. Just make sure nothing gets burned.” Galion said. 

He was nervous about his glasses. His hand kept twitching as if he wanted to remove them but he didn’t. He kept his eyes on Feren, even as he moved from the counter. He didn’t get to get out of the kitchen. 

Feren never stopped smiling as he slid his arms around Galion’s waist once more. Galion tensed under him but Feren didn’t let that stop him. He had to stand on his toes to reach for Galion’s ear: ”Now would be the time to stop me.” He whispered as he let his body take over and press against Galion, inhaling the scent of hospital and vodka. 

Galion just let his book fall on the floor and took Feren’s face in his hands, giving him the most mind-blowing kiss he had ever received. And he had kissed quite a number of people. Surprised, Feren just let Galion invade his mouth with his tongue and pressed their bodies together, closing his eyes, feeling the edges of Galion’s glasses against his face. Galion’s body was nice against his. It was… comforting in a way. He was held and that was all that mattered, really. That, and Galion’s hands in his hair. 

When Galion broke the kiss, Feren didn’t let him go, trying to kiss him again and again. Galion chuckled against his lips. 

”You should know I have no idea what I’m doing.” Galion said with kind of vulnerability in his eyes. It made Feren want to melt. 

”Good.” He just replied. ”Me neither. I just… I just don’t want to be alone. You make me feel less alone.”

Galion just pulled Feren in his arms and made him want to cry when he kissed the top of his head. 

”I still got to shower. Make sure the food doesn’t burn. I’m famished.” Galion slowly let go. The feeling in Feren’s chest didn’t get better. 

”I am too.” Feren added with a cheeky smile and wandering eyes. Galion gave him a stern glare, belied by his radiant smile. 

”My clothes suit you by the way.” The older student said before going to the bathroom. 

Feren bit his lower lip to try and smother the smile that made his cheeks hurt. 

***

”What am I seeing here? Thranduil appears not to be late for his classes!” Elrond joked in the teachers lounge. 

The history professor groaned, sipping his cup of coffee, sunglasses on his eyes: the typical Thranduil of Monday morning. Except he had books and notes in his bag and that, before he was supposed to be in class. Elrond smiled at his friend and busied himself with the kettle. 

”And what am I seeing here?” Thranduil replied after a minute. ”Elrond who, for once, doesn’t appear to be too important for the rest of us indigents. He even cracked a joke! Did you get laid this week-end, for once?” 

Thranduil’s tone was sharp but Elrond knew better than being offended. It was just Thranduil being bitchy because of his hangover. Still, he turned to the history professor with a smile and a cup of tea before replying: 

”Maybe I have.” 

”Miracles do happen! I would ask you who the unfortunate soul was but that would require a lunch discussion and I already have lunch plans.” Thranduil smiled at that last part, which made Elrond frown. 

”Since when do you have lunch plans on Monday?”

”Are you jealous? That’s cute. I’m going to make something for Legolas. He told me he didn’t feel good this morning so he’s going to stay in today. I’ll make him some soup or something.”

Elrond couldn’t help but smile at that. He hadn’t seen Thranduil take care of himself like that in years, nevermind taking care of someone else. Legolas was a very good influence on him. 

”Well, I’ll see you sometime this week then.” The literature teacher nodded before leaving for his class. 

***

Saturday night, he had left adorable, sleepy Lindir before dinner. It had almost been heart-breaking. Lindir had been so warm, all cuddled up against him. He had missed the sensation. Quiet moments when your heart is filled with quiet joy. Soft music in the background. Tea. Once, he had tried petting Flower, as she was possessively lying on Lindir’s lap, but she had only put her paw on his hand to stop him. He still had to gain the cat’s approval. 

It was like re-discovering a muscle you had forgotten you had. A trick you hadn’t practiced in years. It felt nice. 

Before he left, Lindir had kissed him. It was such a sweet, almost lazy, kiss. Elrond had felt very, very frustrated on the ride home. But it was better this way. He had to plan things. He had to make things perfect for Lindir’s first time. 

He also had to work on his gender roles paper for that conference at the end of the semester… 

When he had finally gotten home, rummaging the kitchen to find something to eat, it had hit him. 

He had found someone else. Someone since his wife. 

A fresh wave of pain flooded back to him. He closed his eyes against it and took a deep breath. Old reflexes kicked in and he found himself talking to her again. It had started a few days after she had died. He had been completely unable to let her go. He had felt as if letting her go was letting go of himself. So he had clutched to anything he could. The children got rid of her clothes and hid all her pictures. He had insisted on keeping the books, saying he needed them for his classes. He hadn’t needed them for any of his classes. Then, he had started talking to her, in the night, at first, clutching his pillow, the last pillow in the bed. Then, he had started talking to her during the day, like he used to when she was still alive. 

It had taken weeks for Galadriel to make him let go of the last illusion of Celebrian. 

Now, he caught himself speaking to her again. He told her about Lindir. How lovely Lindir was. How very good the young student was for him. How he felt ready to start again. How Lindir had made him ready to be healthy again, not just a convalescent patient. How he felt the first fleeting touches of happiness again. 

When he let go again, he felt the same deep, painful feeling of loss, as when he had let go for the last time, years ago. He wanted to clutch to the memory of Celebrian’s laughter, the memory of the silken hem of the dress he had gotten her out of the first time.

But he didn’t feel lonely. He didn’t feel like he was patiently waiting to die as well. 

He felt like he had felt when leaving Lindir behind, a mere hour ago. 

It was good, he decided. Celebrian would approve of his happiness. She would approve of Lindir. She would laugh at him, but she would approve. 

Slowly, he got his pulse into control again and opened his eyes. The kitchen was just as he left it, half dark from the night’s sky, half lit up by the blue light of the counter. He wished he could see Lindir in the pale blue light. See him lower his eyes, a smile still on his face. See him push his hair away from his face…

Soon, he promised himself. Soon. 

***

Monday morning, refreshed, satisfied with the week-end’s work, Elrond walked in the classroom where the students awaited him. Lindir was in the middle, his hair in a braid, wearing a burgundy sweater that complimented his eyes so well. Elrond tried not to smile too brightly and rejoiced when he saw Lindir look down again, trying to repress a smile of his own. 

As soon as the lecture was finished, Elrond dismissed his students and nodded to Lindir to summon him in his office in what appeared to be a professional manner. The student walked to his desk as Elrond was packing his books, waiting for him. It was endearing. The students were soon off for lunch and the two of them were left alone. They looked at each other for a minute, unsure how to proceed, how to concile the two dimensions of their relationship. 

Then Elrond guided Lindir in his office. They started talking as they were walking, Lindir explaining what he had found, highlighting his speech with a lot of hand movements. Elrond could see that his student was nervous. He used a lot of ‘maybe’ and ‘It may be possible that’ and pauses. That being said, he nearly vibrated with excitement. He must have found something, then. 

Soon, the professor was closing the door of his office behind them. He couldn’t help but think about the last time they had been alone in a room. Now was not the time. 

”Lindir,” Elrond tried to ground him with a calm, gentle voice. ”Tell me what you found.” 

The young man fell silent for a minute. He looked down, looking for words. Then, he blurted out: 

”I think it’s about incest.”

Elrond’s eyebrows rose and he looked at his student, dumbfounded. A rare sight. 

”I think Maglor’s mysterious lover was someone from his family. His close family. That is why he can’t talk about him in a more… overt way.”

”This is a rather bold claim. In the poems, the feeling are reciprocated.”

”Féanor had never been one for respecting the rules, it makes sense that his son would do the same.”

”You claim it is incest, do you have an idea who the lover might be?”

”I don’t… I’m not sure. I mean, the very idea is quite new… I wondered if it might be Féanor himself or Maedhros. There are several references to fire…”

”Maedhros already had a lover. Fingon.” Elrond reminded him. 

”Yes, yes indeed, but I don’t think it would prevent Maglor from falling in love with him. Plus, later on, they were very close, after Fingon’s death in Nirnaeth Arnoediad…”

Elrond fell silent, brows furrowed, thinking. Lindir looked at him with apprehension. He was himself quite shocked at the revelation, had been for the whole week-end, but he had researched and researched and he thought it was at least serious enough to bring to his supervisor. 

After a while, Elrond moved, taking a deep breath. 

”You know this is a serious claim you are making here?”

Lindir nodded. 

”Well… This is at least worth looking into. This week, I want you to look into both Féanor and Maedhros biographies.” He took a pen and a piece of paper. ”Here are two good biographies that you can find at the library. Do not concern yourself with their whole lives, just read the parts where they could have been with Maglor. Once you have done that, I want you to look at the semantic field of family, or kindred, in all of Maglor’s poetry.”

Lindir took notes, looking a little overwhelmed. Elrond smiled at the sight. 

”I know it’s a lot to do.” He assured. ”But maybe your lover will make it up to you this week-end?” Elrond suggested with a small smile. 

Lindir immediately looked up, blushing. For a few seconds, he hesitated between his role as a lover and his role as a student. The former won and Lindir smiled back, whispering: ”I would like that.” 

”I’ll send you an email.” Elrond replied. 

***

Thranduil closed the door behind him and dropped the grocery bag on the counter in the kitchen. He felt half-tired and half-excited. He shouldn’t. He really shouldn’t have to prevent himself from smiling so much at the very thought of cooking for Legolas and spending the evening curled up with him on the couch after a long dreary day. 

He had tried very hard not to let himself getting distracted by Legolas, but the fact was, that living with him offered a lot of situations that rapidly became very uncomfortable. 

It had began very slowly. Legolas walking in the kitchen in the mornings with a pyjama top too big for him, revealing an enticing white shoulder, to which the cuteness of his sleepy eyes did not help. 

Then it had been Legolas reaching up objects on high shelves and bending to pick them up. It had happened a lot lately. Often, Legolas would close his eyes and sigh and say that he was becoming very clumsy. 

Then it had been Legolas’ new gym membership which often featured him wearing very flattering clothing. 

Then it had been Legolas wandering in the house in his towel. Only his towel. 

Thranduil was glad to see Legolas getting adapted to his new house, getting confortable enough to walk around half naked… However, it did nothing to help with The Problem. 

The Problem was that Legolas was supposed to be like a son to Thranduil. A son he would have very young, but a son all the same. Thranduil was supposed to give him The Talk or whatever, not staring at his ass when they were partying together. 

It was a very difficult situation. The worse, in all this, was that he had started drinking less because Legolas didn’t like drinking when they were not partying. Thranduil felt like this was a situation where being drunk all the time was a requisite, but he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint Legolas. He enjoyed the way his bright blue eyes shone like a summer’s sky when he laughed. They had the blue hue that did not suffer the slightest shadow in them. 

Here he was, waxing poetics again. At least, it wasn’t like that time when he has wanted to call Elrond to find a good simile for the curve of Legolas’s ass. Thankfully, he hadn’t sent the message. 

Maybe not being drunk was a good thing actually. 

The professor heard some noise toward Legolas’s room. Maybe he felt a little better and wanted to get up. Or he had heard him come in and wanted to greet him. He smiled at the thought. Holding the quinoa he had meant to put away, he walked to Legolas’s room. 

”Hey, I’m home. I went to the shop to buy some stuff we can eat. I mean, I’m not a great cook but maybe I can make you something nice.” More noise. Whispers. ”Are you alright in here?” He asked, frowning. 

”Yes, yes, I’m fine, please don’t…”

But it was too late. Thranduil had opened the door. 

And all was crushed. 

Legolas was struggling with his t-shirt, his hair in disarray, his cheeks still flushed, while another man was trying to put on pants, sitting on the bed. 

It felt like a slap in the face. Thranduil, for once, was silent. He nodded to himself and closed the door without a word. 

He dropped the quinoa on the counter with the rest of the groceries and pulled out his cellphone, without thinking. 

He texted Bard and went to his bedroom, locking the door behind him. 

***

”Lindir, what are you doing?” Feren asked, frowning. 

”I’m trying to resolve an unresolvable situation, that is what I’m doing.” Lindir replied, still on his knees, in the middle of his kitchen. 

”It looks like you are trying to take notes from a book and scrubbing your floor at the same time. It looks highly unproductive, if you ask me.”

Lindir closed his eyes and dropped his sponge. ”Elrond is coming over this week-end.”

”Again? You spend your life with him! Seriously, he’s your supervisor and your sugar daddy, I mean, he is trying to consume your life.”

”He’s not my sugar daddy. And I spend twice as much time with you.” Lindir replied. 

”Your flat is spotless, Lindir. Don’t worry about it. I mean, you’re young, I’m pretty sure he isn’t expecting an Ikea showroom. All you need is clean linen that you are going to have to wash right after the week-end.”

”Valar, Feren, that is disgusting!” Lindir protested. 

”Well, it’s just as well that Sugar Daddy is coming over to keep you company because I came around to tell you that I can’t make it to our Saturday study session.”

”What? Why? Are you partying again?”

”No… I mean, yes, of course, I’m partying, but not all Saturday. As strangely as it sounds, I have a date.”

”You have a date?” Lindir asked, as if that was as absurd as himself trying to clean his flat and study at the same time. ”You don’t do dates.”

”Yeah, now I do.” Feren looked down, as if he were feeling slightly embarrassed. Now, that was a rare sight. 

”Who is it?”

”Don’t laugh at me, okay?”

”I won’t.”

”It’s Galion.”

”The PhD student who works at the teachers’ café?”

”Himself.”

”That is… I mean… He’s… It’s… not what I pictured for you.”

”Yeah, well… I didn’t picture you with a sugar daddy either. I mean, I always thought you would settle with some nice, boring guy, and you’re the one having the dangerous relationship.”

Lindir smiled and got up, walking to Feren. ”What are you…?”

Then Lindir hugged his friend, trying not to put chemicals all over him. The young man stood put a moment, trying to compute. They did hug, quite often, but now, that was weird. It was as if they had just made peace. As if they had just closed the chapter where they could have been something and went back to be friends, just friends, the best friends. Feren hugged him back. 

”I’ll still steal you away for coffee next Monday so we can gossip about our boyfriends.” Feren whispered. 

”That’s a deal.” Lindir replied, smiling. 

***

Bard pulled over in Thranduil’s driveway. Thank Eru his neighbor told him she could take care of the kids. Not that they really needed to be taken care of: Sigrid was doing just fine and he had good kids, who wouldn’t wreck havoc in the house while he was away. 

Now was his chance and, as much as he loved spending nice evenings with his children, he was not ready to miss it. 

As soon as he had laid eyes on the history teacher, his heart had leapt in his chest. He had never seen anyone as handsome as Thranduil with his perfect eyebrows, his long flowing hair that looked like star-spun silk, his perfect smirk, and of course, his perfect ass. Everything about Thranduil was perfect, right to his bitchy attitude, which should have been unnerving, but really wasn’t because Thranduil had accepted him in the ‘good-looking’ team and never made jokes at his expense. 

Bard had never intended on being so well-accepted by the most exclusive person he knew (apart from Thorin Oakenshield, but that was another matter) He knew he had just had a PhD a year ago, not having had the time to complete one until Sigrid had learned to take care of her siblings along with him. But now, he had one, and the pay that came along with it was a relief from the years he had spent struggling to keep his family afloat. 

All he had wanted was to keep to himself and get money for his children’s college. But Thorin had spotted him and they had talked a few times. As soon as Thranduil had seen that, he had interfered, of course, and had taken Bard under his wing. He was even invited to his parties! A lot of people would give anything to go to Thranduil’s parties and here he was, with his terrible hair, terrible shirts, having a standing invitation, which he couldn’t honor as much as he wished. 

Lusting after Thranduil was as easy as enjoying chocolate cake. Falling in love with him had never been part of the plan. He had tried to scan Thranduil’s feelings about him. As far as he was concerned, Thranduil would be happy to sleep with him once or twice, but he didn’t know if feelings were involved. He felt oddly reluctant to go further without knowing the history professor’s feelings. 

At the last party, Bard had gotten totally wasted, as he had promised he would not, and had looked for Thranduil, dragging him from the beautiful young man he had been talking to. He doesn’t remember much of what happened next, but it had involved a suggestion to ‘give it a try’ when they were sober. 

An hour earlier, Bard had received a message, urging him to get the neighbor to look after Sigrid, Bain and Tilda, while he was to attend to the perfect Thranduil who was waiting for him. He really couldn’t miss that chance. 

Trying to make his hair look like something, he knocked on the door, trying not to fidget. 

The door opened to a young man, freshly showered, his long blond hair, damp in his back, wearing only a very large t-shirt and black boxers. Bard frowned slightly and asked: ”I… Uhm… I’m looking for Thranduil…?”

The young man, who did look like Thranduil, smiled at that and… did he dream or did he just checked him out?… opened the door all the way to let him in. 

”Thran, your… ” The young man stared at him with a contemplative smile. ”Friend… is waiting for you.”

Thranduil then appeared, wearing a very beautiful deep green robe and looking like he was wearing a three-piece suit. He had that cold look that intimidated Bard so much, but he softened it into a smile as soon as he saw Bard. 

”Thank you Legolas, don’t wait for me for diner. There are some groceries on the counter. Bard, thanks for coming. Shall we move to the bedroom?”

Legolas turned to look at Thranduil and the tension was so palpable that Bard wondered if he was stepping into Heaven or Hell.


	10. Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> I'm really sorry this chapter is so late but that week has been... hectic. And this week promises to be just the same. So please, be patient with me.
> 
> Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter. You are continuously very nice to me and you just keep me motivated for that fic! 
> 
> This is the chapter. This is THE chapter. Where the frustration ends. I never wrote a smut in English before but well, there's a first for everything. I hope it isn't too ridiculous. 
> 
> Thank you so much for keeping reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

”Hey, Dad,” Arwen started, from the kitchen. ”Is it okay if Gimli swings by with Aragorn? We want to watch that movie tonight and cook and their kitchen is like… Well, you can’t cook in it. He’s not sleeping here, but he’ll stay and chill…”

”Sure, honey, Gimli can stay the evening.” Elrond replied from his bathroom. 

”Oh, thanks so much! We won’t bother you, promise!”

”I know you wont,” Elrond said, walking out of the bathroom to the kitchen, still buttoning his shirt. ”Because I won’t be around to be bothered.”

Arwen looked up from her phone, eyeing her dad suspiciously. ”Where are you going? It’s Saturday morning. You never go out on Saturday morning. Not without being all grumpy about it for days.”

Elrond smiled at that. ”I’ll be back Sunday evening.”

Arwen looked at him as if he had just been dropped from a flying saucer. ”You are going to the guide’s place! Eru, you are going on a naughty week-end! By the Valar, how do I get the images out of my head? Did you bring chocolate?”

Her father just laughed and kissed her forehead. ”Just don’t make a mess everywhere, alright?” 

”Sure, we won’t… Are you seriously wearing a shirt? You know you’ll have buttons missing by the end of the week-end, right?”

”I have a t-shirt in my overnight bag, in case that happens. But I won’t scar your mind with details. Just have a nice week-end. My phone will be on, don’t hesitate to call if anything happens, alright?”

”I will…” Arwen answered, still looking slightly disturbed by the idea of her father doing what she did every once in a while with Aragorn. 

Elrond brushed tiny braids in his hair, trying not to look too severe, put some cologne on his neck and, taking his overnight bag, prepared to leave. 

At the door, Arwen put her thumbs up at him: ”You look very dashing, Dad. Have fun!” before looking down at her phone once more. 

***

Once in his car, Elrond took deep breaths. He would like to say he wasn’t nervous, but he actually was. A lot. It would be Lindir’s first time. Everything had to be perfect. 

He had a nervous laugh when he remembered buying everything he needed, at the small parashop down his street. The cashier had looked bored and tired, but the young woman behind him had stared at him as if she couldn’t picture him having sex. 

Now he was in his car, driving to Lindir’s flat where they would spend the week-end… being together. 

He wondered how it would all unfold. He still had a lot of doubts and he was supposed to be the one in control here. 

Communicate, he remembered like a mantra. Communicate and everything will be alright. 

He pulled up in the parking lot and got his bag in the trunk. Not far from his car, a couple was making out against a car. 

Wait a minute. 

Was that the waiter? The one who makes perfect tea at the teachers’s café? Galion? 

As soon as he realized someone was watching them, the waiter just pushed his… date… away from him and nodded shyly at him. Elrond, remembering not to stare just nodded back. The date winked at him. He hurried towards the elevator. 

He texted Lindir to let him know he was here and tried to calm his beating heart. It was going to be alright. 

***

The door was open as he got here. Lindir looked up from his pan in the kitchen and smiled nervously at him. ”Come in, please. I’ll be right here. I just need to finish this…”

He looked nice. He was wearing a deep grey t-shirt with light jeans, ripped at the knees. His hair was in a messy bun, except from the usual rebellious tress. His movements were a little stiff, as they usually were when he was nervous. 

Elrond wondered when he had become so familiar with Lindir’s body language. 

He stepped in, closing the door behind him. Music was playing in the background. Classical Lothlorien music from the Second Age. Galadriel would approve, Elrond thought, smiling. 

”Can I put my bag in the bedroom?” He asked. 

”Sure, sure, please, make yourself at home. Tea will be ready in a moment.”

The bedroom was in perfect order, like something from a magazine. The only proof someone had actually slept here was the mark in the left pillow. The very image of Lindir sleeping here was very endearing. Elrond smiled to himself and put his bag to the right side of the bed. 

Back in the living-room, he saw Flower sleeping on the couch and did his best not to wake her up. Lindir was still in the kitchen, torn between making tea and watching the pancakes. 

”Do you need help?” Elrond asked. 

Lindir jumped at the sound. He was not used to having someone in the flat with him, it seemed. The loneliness it shed light on made Elrond want to hug his perfect… student? lover?

”Oh, uhm… yes, sorry… Could you just… Uhm… Check on the computer? I really can’t remember how much flour I was supposed to put. They look really liquid to me…”

”I’ll check that.” Elrond promised as he walked to the laptop, open on the table. 

There was a tab open with the recipe, and two others, one for some sort of social network, the other… 10 tips for… something… Highly intriguing. Elrond really shouldn’t spy on Lindir’s computer like that. It was just the start of their relationship and here he was, peering into his personal life… 

Well, he had already seen his bedroom and had touched his ass, surely, looking at an Internet page… Plus, it was probably nothing really important. Something like: 10 tips for a good brunch, or 10 tips for a perfect romantic week-end…

10 tips for a perfect blowjob. 

Elrond blinked, hardly believing his eyes. 

”Did you find it?” Lindir asked. 

Elrond tried not to jump in surprise. He tried not to think at all. Quickly, he changed the page and looked at the amount of floor. 

”It says one cup is good.” Elrond said as he walked back to the kitchen. Lindir smiled and nodded before returning to the pancakes. Elrond took a deep, calming breath and did his best not to stare at Lindir’s lips. 

”So, did you have a good week?” He asked. 

”Yes, although my supervisor did give me a lot of work.” Lindir teased with a lovely smile. Ah, those lips again! ”Did you?”

”That supervisor is quite a monster. Tormenting a lovely thing like you…” Elrond walked closer to Lindir, smelling pancakes and the smallest hint of honey-dew. ”My week went fine. I was quite… distracted by the thought of the young man I was going to meet this week-end.” 

He very gently put his hands on Lindir’s shoulders. Lindir tensed at first but was quick to relax so Elrond caressed his arms.The young man closed his eyes. Elrond brought his lips to his ear: 

”I don’t think people told you enough how irresistible you are.” 

Lindir’s breath hitched and he leaned in Elrond’s touch. ”You shouldn’t forget about the pancakes.” Elrond reminded him, chuckling. 

The young man’s eyes snapped open and he rescued the pancake from being burnt at the heavy price of leaving Elrond’s arms. 

A few minutes later, they were sitting at the small kitchen table, surrounded by pancakes, jams, honey, peanut butter and fresh blueberries. It looked so perfect Elrond had trouble thinking that he was here, with his student, discussing that one awful translation of Maglor’s poems in Dalish. Lindir was relaxing to him and now dared uttering some negative comments about things he didn’t like. Elrond enjoyed that. 

Afterwards, they were talking about movies, trying to narrow down the list of everything they wanted to watch today. Lindir did the dishes but Elrond insisted on drying them. It was actually totally cute how Lindir was organized. The small plates went there, the taller plates there and the bigger ones there. It was so… domestic already. Yet, Elrond couldn’t find it in him to care. He just enjoyed the moment. And mentally preparing to kiss Lindir for the first time in the week-end. 

Once the last plate was put away, they faced each other. No better time. 

As gently as if he were trying to tame a wild animal, Elrond swept his arm around Lindir’s waist and drew him close. The student’s hands went to his chest, as if to soften the impact. They burned Elrond through his shirt. His own hands went to Lindir’s bun and pulled it loose, letting his hair fall in his face and on his shoulders. Gently, he pushed it away from Lindir’s lips and bent slightly so he could kiss him. 

As their lips met, Elrond felt Lindir relax entirely in his arms, waiting for him to take the lead. The kiss was soft and tender. It felt so familiar already. It was as if they tried to balance the dangers of their relationship with the sweetness of their kisses. It suited Elrond perfectly fine. He felt his doubts and his own nervousness fade as he licked Lindir’s lips until they opened for him. Lindir’s tongue met his eagerly and artlessly. 

Then, Elrond said goodbye to the sweetness of the kiss as his gorgeous student hooked a leg on his hips in a silent demand. He quickly gathered him in his arms and lifted him up. They broke the kiss for a second, so that they could adjust to their new position and breathe. Elrond chuckled against Lindir’s lips. They were recreating the kiss at the party but this time, nobody would stop them. The thought was quite heady. Just as heady as Lindir’s body against his. The young man’s hands were around his shoulders, playing with his hair and, when Elrond dived in for another kiss, he pulled it unconsciously, making Elrond groan. 

Pleasure was beginning to haze his mind, wrapping his head in a cloud of pure want. He felt his heartbeat quicken and his hands hold Lindir’s hips more possessively. Lindir moaned against his lips. Elrond broke the kiss to watch him. He was slightly flushed, his hair was mussed where Elrond’s hands had been and his eyes were impossibly dark. The sight was so lovely Elrond couldn’t help but stare for a moment, until Lindir, embarrassed by his advanced state of arousal, lowered his eyes. 

At that moment, Elrond began attacking his neck. It started gentle. Closed-mouth kisses against his skin, his warm skin, his pulse. Lindir closed his eyes and gave Elrond more space to explore. The professor started following the pulse with his tongue. In the back of his mind, he thought about how Thranduil would react if he could see him right now, kissing his student in his kitchen. Lindir had the amazing faculty of making him forget everything about property. And he was lucky enough to have the same effect on him. Lindir’s hands in his hair was slowly driving him crazy. 

When Lindir’s hips bucked against his, Elrond accidentally bit his neck. His pained gasp shouldn’t have been so exciting. 

”Bed. Please.” Lindir whispered, breathless. 

To the young man’s disappointment, Elrond slowly put him down. He didn’t know the flat enough to walk to the bedroom and, as much as it cost him to say it, he had started to find lifting Lindir not so easy. So he let the young man guide him, holding his hand. Lindir didn’t turn to look at him until Elrond had closed the door behind him. 

The next kiss was absolutely filthy. It had been a while since Elrond had been kissed like that. He slipped his hands under Lindir’s shirt, feeling the warmth, the softness of the skin. He felt his muscles under the skin as Lindir tried his best not to seek friction. Elrond could still feel that his lover had many hesitations and did not dare to go as his body dictated, but he would warm him up to the exercise. 

He wanted nothing more than to see Lindir unravel under him. For that, he had to find his weakness. The little thing that would make him go wild. Were Lindir someone else, he would just have asked what he liked, but it was his first time and chances were that he himself didn’t know. Elrond would find it for him. 

Considering the story of Lindir’s first kiss, he doubted demonstrations of force were the way to go. No spanking, no holding him down, no ordering him around. 

Lindir’s hands on his chest made him look down to those beautiful darkened hazel eyes that were all his doing. ”Can I?” He asked, biting his lower lip, reddened by Elrond’s attentions. The sight made Elrond bite down a groan. He nodded and let Lindir’s fingers unbutton his shirt. He had to confess that the idea of being naked next to Lindir was a rather stressful one. What if Lindir didn’t find him to his taste? Elrond wasn’t that young anymore and, while he exercised once in a while, he didn’t have Lindir’s lithe, supple body. The last thing he wanted to see on Lindir’s face was disgust or deception. 

So he kissed his lover again, to distract him. This kiss was… deeper. It was full of untold emotions. The depth of it surprised Elrond. It was so early for those kinds of kisses. When Lindir let go of his lips, he let the shirt fall from his shoulders to the floor. Lindir blinked at the sight and unconsciously licked his lips. Elrond wondered if he was thinking about giving him a blowjob. The thought was like an electric current under his skin. Lindir’s hands were slightly cold against his skin when he started exploring the newly discovered skin with the palms of his hands. Elrond did his best not to move: he could still feel Lindir being hesitant with his touch and he didn’t want to rush him. When those hands were lowered to his waist, however, he started moving again. Lindir’s t-shirt ended somewhere in the room, they didn’t know where and didn’t care about it. 

Then they were lying on the bed and Elrond just realized it was early in the afternoon. It seemed strange to roll on the bed in the middle of the day. But well, he was hardly complaining, not when Lindir was pressing his body against his, trying to capture his lips again. Elrond let him kiss him. It was still quite hesitant, but not as artless as it had been before. Lindir was copying his own kisses, trying to find his footing. 

Which reminded him: he had to find Lindir’s weakness. The small thing that sent him keening, moaning, calling his name… He started by what he knew well: hair pulling. Under the pretense of holding Lindir’s mouth to his, he intertwined his fingers in his silken hair. Then, he changed the kiss so that he could dominate it and pulled slightly. Lindir only tensed and winced against his lips. 

”I’m sorry.” Elrond quickly apologized, removing his hand from his hair. His voice, consumed by desire, was deep and rough. 

Lindir gasped at that, his eyelashes fluttering. Elrond looked at him. 

Then he had to repress a smile. 

He had just found it. 

It made sense, really. Elrond was a teacher, he talked to his class (to Lindir) two hours a week. It made sense that Lindir either had been attracted to his voice right from the start or had associated his voice with the pleasure he brought him. Gently, he began caressing his sides, whispering in his ear: 

”You have no idea how much I wanted this. How I waited for this week to finally end, so that we could be together, so that I could put my hands on you.” 

Elrond felt proud as he watched Lindir blush more deeply, right to the top of his ears. His breath was deeper, his red abused lips were parted in the very picture of loveliness. The way his hips were rubbing against his as Lindir’s control eluded him was even more lovelier. Elrond was beginning to be more than half-hard and not rubbing right back against Lindir was a torture. 

”Tell me,” He asked against Lindir’s lips. ”Did you miss me too?”

”I did, I…” Lindir licked his dried lips again, the tip of his tongue touching Elrond’s. 

Elrond settled them so they were lying on their sides, face to face, with their legs intertwined. His hands started wandering all over the naked skin offered to him, mapping his lover. He was as soft as feathers and his breath against his face tickled him just as much. 

”Did you touch yourself, my little dove?” Elrond asked more directly. 

Lindir tried to bite back a moan and his eyes closed for a minute, letting pleasure wash over him. The sight was heady and Elrond grasped Lindir’s hips. 

”I don’t usually do… It’s not something that I do a lot… But I did. Last night.”

”Here, in your bed?”

Lindir nodded and Elrond let his hands wander down, right to Lindir’s trousers. 

“What did you think about?” Elrond asked, making sure his voice was really low, to make Lindir shiver. 

”What it would be like to feel you inside me.” The lovely student whispered and, really, he had no business sounding so innocent when he was saying something so filthy. The very thought of Lindir touching himself while picturing his supervisor taking him made Elrond growl, arousal pooling south.

Elrond rewarded him by opening his jeans, never leaving his eyes. He had wondered, many times, how he would be like, with desire written all over his face. He should have known he would be lovely. 

Gently, he dragged the fabric over Lindir’s legs, pushing himself to his knees so he could throw the offensive trousers away. Then, he bent so that he could reach for the lube and condoms in his bag. He put them on the bed, next to Lindir. They’ll come to this in time. There was no rush. 

“A few things before we begin, Lindir.” Elrond declared, his voice automatically reverting to ‘teacher mode’, to the student’s evident delight (Oh, how much fun he was going to have with that during their next lesson) ”You get to tell me what you want to do. We don’t have to start by penetrative sex. If you don’t like something, it is very important that you tell me, and I’ll stop immediately, no questions asked. Is that understood?”

Lindir nodded. ”Say it.” Elrond urged. 

”If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you.”

”Good.” Elrond replied and kissed Lindir softly. ”Now, tell me, my dove, what do you want me to do to you?” 

Lindir blushed visibly at that. He looked away and Elrond missed the admiration in those eyes almost instantly. Lindir then took a deep breath and sat up, closer to Elrond, his hands on his teacher’s trousers, waiting for Elrond to tell him to go on. He nodded. 

”I want you to… To…uhm… Be inside me…”

Elrond gently cupped Lindir’s head in one hand, letting his fingers weave themselves in his hair. Their eyes met. ”Is that a question?” Elrond asked. That phrase reminded him of the times he had quizzed his daughter and she tried to fool him about how well she knew the subject. But now wasn’t the time to be fooled. Or think about Arwen. 

”No, I just wasn’t just about the… terminology.” Lindir answered, wincing slightly at his own awkwardness. He had, however, succeeded in opening Elrond’s trousers and was pushing them down, trying to remove them. It took some repositioning but they ended up lying on their sides, face to face. 

Lindir was already cuddling close to him, trying to mold his body to his. As much as it pained him, Elrond didn’t just gather him in his arms but pushed him gently back on the pillows. He then began exploring him, with his hands and his lips. He was careful not to be too rough, even when Lindir moaned so sweetly under his touches. By the time he was at his underwear, the young man was biting the back of his hand to prevent himself from being too loud. 

Elrond removed Lindir’s boxers gently, trying not to make the fabric drag on sensitive flesh. When he looked up at Lindir, he was blushing even harder, down to his chest and tried to escape his eyes. 

”You are beautiful.” Elrond whispered. 

”You… You don’t have to say that because we are… I mean, I know that I’m not…” 

Elrond grasped his hips, holding his down on the bed, grounding him. He looked up at his lover and repeated, showing as much sincerity as he could: ”You are beautiful.”

With a kiss on his thigh, Elrond left Lindir gasping and fished a condom. How long had it been? It looked almost surreal, the way his movements were almost automatic while his hands trembled slightly. He had still a clear mind, but Lindir slowly unraveling under him was a sight that would make any man crumble. He prepared Lindir first, stroking him lightly, making him gasp and moan in the most delicious manner. Elrond felt himself harden and his own breath was heaving. He felt himself grow impatient. 

He took a deep breath. It was Lindir’s first time. It had to be good. He had to take his time. 

Elrond poured lube on his fingers, feeling Lindir watching him intently. When he was ready, he bent over the body under him and growled in Lindir’s neck: ”Open your legs for me.”

Lindir stole a kiss while he slowly spread his legs. The view was exquisite. 

Elrond then proceeded to take Lindir in his mouth while beginning to massage his entrance. Overwhelmed by the simulation, the young man had to bite his lips to choke a cry. He screwed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to get a grip on himself. He couldn’t. He felt like his whole body was aflame. It was like those crazy parties when alcohol is burning in you blood and your body doesn’t exactly belong to you anymore. It belongs to the music. It belongs to your lover. The sensations were half-sweet, half-painful. Elrond breached him with a finger. Lindir’s head was in a cloud of arousal so strong he couldn’t be ashamed by the keening noises he let escape through the skin of his hand, bitten so harshly that it would bruise tomorrow without a doubt. 

After a while, Elrond withdrew his finger so he could use two fingers. His movements were slow and careful. The hand on his hipbone was grounding, reassuring. His mouth on him… was indescribable. Lindir had read on the subject: he was a good researched and the most crucial step of research was gathering information. He tried to keep his head clear enough so he could analyse Elrond’s movements and later, reproduce them. He failed miserably. The sensations were so powerful, like a soothing burning hot ache in his stomach. The hand he wasn’t eating away was clutching the sheets. He wanted to move under Elrond’s hands, ask for more of those contradicting sensations, but his lover wouldn’t let him. He had him right where he wanted him and he had taken control. 

It shouldn’t be so appealing, really. 

Suddenly, Elrond brushed that place inside him and Lindir was ready to tip over the edge. But his lover just let go of him, his fingers still inside him, but still. Lindir groaned in frustration as Elrond moved back up and molded their bodies together. The kiss was ravenous. Lindir tried to get a hold on himself but, before he could realize what he was doing, he was gently rubbing against Elrond’s thigh. His lover gently broke the kiss and stilled his hips with a warm, gentle hand. ”Just another finger and I’ll give you what you want.” He promised with a smile. Lindir nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself a little. 

Elrond’s warm gentle eyes, almost black with desire, didn’t help. Neither did the third finger inside him. This one hurt a bit, especially without the wonderful diversion of his skilled mouth on him. Lindir winced slightly. Elrond immediately stopped. 

”Relax for me, little dove.” He whispered against his lips. ”You’re very nearly ready.” 

He started moving again. Before Lindir could focus on the very strange sensation of having someone else inside him, Elrond started talking again: ”How does it feel? Do you like it?”

”It feels… strange. Just like something that is exterior becoming a part of you. It’s… ah…It’s good.”

”You feel very good, Lindir. I love watching you swept away with pleasure. I love being the one doing this to you. I can’t wait to watch you come.” 

Elrond wasn’t as lost in pleasure as his lover but he wasn’t completely in control either. The movements of his hand were sublimed by the body under him which, by rolling gently in cadence with the movements, brushed against his body, setting every single nerve alight. 

The second time Lindir felt balancing on the edge, ready to fall over, he grasped Elrond’s shoulders and tried to press them together more than they already were. ”Please, please, I’m so close…” He whispered, trying to speak, to make his point, but he could barely keep up with the staccato beating of his heart when the waves of pleasure kept lapping at him again and again. 

Elrond removed his fingers. Lindir groaned, disappointed, and closed his eyes for a moment. He was way past gathering himself, right now, he was only accommodating the incredible pleasure Elrond was bringing him right until the moment it was too much. 

”Shhh, my little dove. We’re nearly there, I promise. Here.” The young man felt his lover slip something in his hands and opened his eyes to see what it was. It was a condom. Elrond pressed a butterfly kiss on his lips before instructing him: ”Open it. Good. Now, here, let me guide you.”

Elrond’s hands on his, Lindir put the condom on him. He couldn’t help but licking his dry lips at the sight. When Elrond’s cock jumped slightly at the contact of his hesitant hands covered in lube, Lindir was startled but didn’t let go. He couldn’t help himself and stroked it as Elrond had stroked him, admiring the size, the warmth, Elrond’s face as he let pleasure wash over his features… 

”Lindir, if you go on with this, I’m afraid that it will be over before it can begin.” Elrond said, his voice so deep and so ragged that his lover just shivered. 

”How do you want me?” The young man asked, looking at the bed, wondering how they could make things work. 

”Just lie down on your back. I want to see you.” 

They kissed. It was slow and tender and sensual. Lindir’s hands were in Elrond’s hair, gently caressing his scalp, opening up to his lover’s tongue, letting himself be tasted, savored, possessed. Elrond’s warm, gentle hands were on his waist, guiding him back, down, on the bed, following him, draping his body over Lindir’s. When they were confortable, Elrond putting his weigh on his elbows so he wouldn’t crush his lover, Lindir’s legs spread to make room for Elrond between them, they looked at each other for a long while. They could see the same desire, reflected in another face, like a link. 

Next, Elrond gently guided himself in Lindir. It was slightly uncomfortable and the young man tensed at first. The professor rained caresses on the body under him, trying to be as soothing as he could. It felt like arousal had conquered his body, like the very air they breathed, the mantra in his head were urging him to go on, to be in Lindir… He looked at his lover and gathered all his attentions on his face, watching for any sign of pain as he went on. 

Lindir relaxed by degrees. He breathed in and out slowly, trying not to get overwhelmed by the intense attention he was getting from Elrond. He was never used to be the focus of someone’s entire attention. Just like all those physical sensation, this one was new. A little uncomfortable at first, but with some time and some relaxing, it quickly became pleasurable. Elrond’s eyes were so calm, so grounding, that the young man couldn’t help but feel utterly and completely loved. 

He gently rolled his hips, making Elrond gasp above him. He was so perfectly handsome, when he let the pleasure show on his face. Finally, he stopped moving, closing his eyes, letting the sensations flood over him. When he opened them, he watched Lindir with such intensity that the young man felt it burn in his chest, at the very limit of what he could endure. 

Lindir gasped at the first movement. Elrond didn’t stop this time. He rolled his hips, slow and deep, just like his kisses. The first movements were almost overwhelming but when Elrond set a rhythm, Lindir finally allowed himself to satisfy his own curiosity. Just like his lover had done when they started, Lindir let his hands travel all over Elrond. He caressed the skin, followed the collarbones with the tip of his fingers, gently rubbed the nipples, making Elrond’s back arch. 

Elrond found that spot inside him again. Lindir moaned loudly before he could even press his hands against his mouth to stop the sound. His lover chuckled and, shifting his weigh to a single elbow, he gently took Lindir’s hands away from his mouth: ”Let me hear you, my lovely songbird.” 

Lindir nodded, unable to stop smiling widely at the new nickname. 

When Elrond started thrusting inside him again, he picked up the pace. He couldn’t ignore the urge of chasing that feeling of pure pleasure with the tangy aftertaste of want. He finally satisfied the ache he had felt since the first time he had met Lindir. The young man was also finally freeing himself, undressing to the bare reality of pleasure. He kept keening, his legs hooking themselves around his lover’s hips to keep him there, rolling his hips in time with Elrond’s thrusts. When their eyes met, the force of Lindir’s want in those lovely darkened hazel eyes felt like a lightning bolt in his chest. There was a thunder in their shared breath, rolling to the rhythm of their hearts. 

Already, Elrond was loosing his rhythm. He felt close, the familiar rush of climax looming in his body. If Lindir’s moans and small cries were any indication, the young man was just as close. Keeping eye contact (he wouldn’t miss it for the world) he took Lindir in his hand again and stroked him, trying to match his own thrusts. Lindir shouted at that and the hands that were on his nipples flew to his shoulders, clutching them and pulling some of his hair accidentally. Elrond growled at that and Lindir looked up at him as if he were some sort of god. The young man was holding him as a reassuring raft in an unknown storm. 

Finally, Lindir tensed. His toes curled, his eyes closed and he threw his head back on the pillow. He came with a long, delicious moan.

It was like watching a flower bloom in stop-motion. 

Elrond followed soon after, letting the climax drown him in a sweet ecstasy. He moaned in Lindir’s neck, trying hard not to bite, no to mark him. 

He rolled off Lindir not to crush him. His lover whimpered as he was empty again. For a few minutes, they were just laying side by side, catching their breath, basking in the blank moment. Then Elrond, still slightly out of breath, started cleaning up their mess. When he came back from the bathroom with a wet towel, he found Lindir blinking, trying to ward off sleep. He smiled fondly at the sight. Lindir looked so young and so innocent. The idea should have worried him, but the young man had just looked up toward Elrond and was smiling so sweetly at him. Showing doubt in such precious, intimate moment would crush him. So Elrond cleaned Lindir as best as he could. When he made to go back to the bathroom, his young lover asked in a small voice: 

”Would you mind very much if I let Flower in? She’s not used to having the bedroom door closed…”

Elrond couldn’t help but laugh. He shook his head. ”I’ll open the door for Flower. I can’t give her more reason to dislike me.”

”Why would she dislike you when I l…like you so much?” Lindir asked, his voice all sleepy.

”Because you like me so much.” 

Elrond put the towel in the sink and opened the door for Flower. She stared at him before running to the bed and jumping next to Lindir who was already slipping under the blanket. The cat nestled against Elrond’s lover, leaving him to spoon Lindir from behind. As soon as he felt Elrond, the young man turned his head to him and smiled. ”That was very good. Thank you.” 

”You were amazing, Lindir. I like you very much. Go to sleep now.” 

”It’s the middle of the afternoon” Lindir protested, already half-asleep. 

”I’ll wake you up in twenty minutes, don’t worry.” 

***

Elrond only realized he had fallen asleep when he woke up. Outside, the afternoon sky was darkening with the oncoming evening. 

Lindir had left the bed.

Flower had not. She was sleeping, curled against Elrond’s chest. He smiled and pet her; waking her up. She stretched and stared at him, visibly not happy to be woken up. 

Elrond apologized and scratched her chin before getting up and putting some clothes on. He then found Lindir in the kitchen, making some hot chocolate with some cinnamon, wearing only a large t-shirt and underwear. On the counter beside him, was an open book with Lindir’s tell-tale highlighter marks. It was adorable. 

When his lover slipped his arms around his waist, Lindir startled, thankfully, not handling the hot drinks at the moment. He smiled and turned his head for a small kiss. 

How familiar kissing Elrond was becoming. He felt like it wasn’t yesterday he had a crush on a guy who was visiting his exhibition. 

”Did you sleep well?” He asked while adding the last touches to their drinks. 

”Really well. Had I not been so hungry, I think I would have slept longer.”

”Oh, yeah, of course, I’m sorry, there is food… Oh.” Lindir stopped talking when Elrond suddenly cupped him, pressing his own half-hard manhood against his backside. Despite what they had done earlier, Lindir couldn’t help but blush. Elrond lowered his voice before speaking in Lindir’s ear: ”I’m not hungry for food.” 

”We’ll have to move Flower from the bed.” Lindir used the last of his grasp on his senses to remark, while Elrond was slowly massaging him. 

”I hope she’ll forgive me.” Elrond replied, biting lightly on his ear.

***

Thranduil was trying to catch his breath, lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. 

”Of all the crazy things I’ve done, this is surely the craziest.” He said as soon as he regained his breath. 

”Really?” Legolas asked. ”You strike me as someone who does this all the time.”

The young man was smiling at him, still flushed from the exertion of the night. He was dazzling with his bright smile, his mischievous blue eyes and his mussed hair. 

”I do agree with Legolas,” Bard pointed out from the other side of the bed. ”For someone who can dance all night, we tired you out pretty easily.” 

Bard was watching the two blond men in the bed with him, with something akin to tenderness. He was wrapping a tress of Thranduil’s hair around his finger before letting it go and beginning anew. 

”Oh, hush, you. I dance with one person at a time, you were two. It’s not fair.”

”Don’t pout, Thran’.” Legolas said, laughing. ”We still love you very, very much.”

”I would hope so.” Thranduil retorted. ”I was really good to both of you.”

”You were, Thran’, believe me, you were.” Bard assured him, wrapping his arms around him as Legolas did the same. 

It was a strange arrangement, Thranduil thought, as he felt sleep creeping behind his eyelids, but, well… it was a good arrangement, he decided.


End file.
